Fiona's Nightmare
by evilinsanity
Summary: Fiona's thoughts and feelings when exploring Belli castle. Mostly Fiona POV, Daniella and Riccardo off-screen moments, investigation of a double homocide and the mysterious disappearance of a young woman. In-depth character analysis. RE4 and CT3 crossover
1. Prolouge Start of Haunting Ground

**Haunting Ground Prologue**

An ear-piercing scream stirred Fiona Belli from a deep, deep sleep. She had been dreaming about an accident. Pictures of a terrible car crash filled her head. Or was it not a dream, but her last memory before losing consciousness…? She had been in a car with… No, trying to remember was impossible. Everything was a blur. But where was she now? In a cage? Why? How…? Was she still having nightmares? No, this felt real. She was awake and had been placed in a small cage, like an animal, completely naked except for a thin, white sheet covering her trembling white body.

With her hands around the bars Fiona examined her new surroundings, not liking at all what she saw. She found herself in a dark, moist and eerie room, loaded with disturbing elements and strange equipment. In the middle was a wooden table with butcher's knives and a cut-up carcass. Fresh blood was dripping from the surface down on the stone-covert floor. On the opposite side was a beam with cadavers hanging from it. That explained the rotten stench. There seemed to be something else along the walls… steel chains? The room was far to dark for Fiona to make it out for sure. The only source of light was a few small windows right beneath the ceiling, so she was probably in an old basement of some sort. But what she had already seen was more than enough. She desperately wanted to get out of this place.

The cage door was shut with a bolt which had a padlock attached. Though the padlock seemed not to be locked, thank God! Fiona tried to remove it with the intention of getting out of this cold and horrible place - as fast as possible, but with trembling fingers it was easier said than done. She sensed that someone had just been in here, someone who had dashed out screaming. When that someone came back _she_ would not be here.

Stepping out of the rusty cage, clenching the sheet tight around her Fiona was shivering from horror. The stench of mold and rotten meat, the sight of bits and pieces of what was once animals and the fresh blood dripping from the bench made Fiona's hair rise. Her heart pounding, she slowly moved for the stairs on the opposite side of the cellar.

When she passed the horrifying table she froze. A noise… from under the bench… While holding the sheet so hard her knuckles went white she instinctively turned toward the alarming sound. Ice cold fear paralyzed her. Something was under the bloody bench, with eyes shimmering in the darkness. Scared stiff and unable to move, with her heart pounding so hard her ribs were acing, Fiona realized this thing was now racing in _her direction_.

As it lounged towards her she knew her time had come. She would die, alone and petrified, in this nightmare of a place, ripped to pieces by some unknown beast. She fell on her back and screamed, but knowing no one would come for her, it was all over.

Just when she expected to feel the pain she was so sure would come she got the glimpse of something white fleeing over her, leaping towards the stairs, obviously longing for freedom and fresh air as much as her. Once on her feet again, Fiona was still shaky but also somewhat calmer. She was OK, she was still alive. This nightmare was not going to get the best of her. Feeling her heart slowing down a notch she stood up on her feet, more than ready to leave this place for good and get home.

Then her clear blue eyes were automatically drawn to a shiny item on the floor. What was that? Something useful? She picked it up for a closer look. What had once been a dog's collar was now ripped apart. The name tag read "Hewie". The name of that strange creature which had just spurted past her? To agitated to think more about it she left the destroyed collar behind and started slowly climbing up the dark and steep stairs. Not knowing what, or who, might be expecting her. Not knowing that for the next couple of hours she would have to fight for her life again and again…


	2. Chapter 1 Where am I?

I guess I should add a disclaimer about not owning Haunting Ground or its caracters. They belong to Capcom.

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CHAPTER ONE - WHERE AM I?

Ah, the wonderful feeling of cool, fresh air caressing her skin and filling up her lungs was simply amazing. The stone-bricks which she stood on felt cold against the soles of her feet. There were walls of stone all around her except to her left, so she started to walk in that direction next to what appeared to be a huge building. She was now walking on moist grass. The only sound was that of crows. Thankfully, there was no wind so she didn't freeze, but that wouldn't last long. The sun was low and the sky had the characteristic sunset-red colour. It was early autumn so the air would rapidly cool down. She needed to get inside and find something else to wear as soon as possible.

While looking up at the huge walls to her left and right she wondered what sort of place she'd ended up in. "Where am I?" she thought to herself. When approaching a corner, she saw a huge three to her left. It was very old, but with well kempt branches. Around the corner the first thing to stand out was a huge fountain right in front of her. Fiona had always had a huge passion for art; especially paintings and sculptures, for as long as she could remember. An interest she didn't share with many people her age. Tilting her head she studied the fine sculpture. "It looks like quite the antique." So did the huge building to her right. Everything she'd so far seen seemed to be very old, perhaps even medieval. But at least judging from the well-kempt three behind her, there had to be someone around.

Fiona's eyes moved from the fountain to the building. The only means to enter was a flower decorated staircase a few feet from the fountain, which ended at a door higher up. Fiona wasn't too thrilled about the idea of walking into that strange place, which looked mostly like a medieval castle, all alone but figured she hadn't much of a choice. There seemed to be paths both to the left and right of the fountain, to the right she could see some empty cages and to the left a closed door. Beyond that there was only darkness. Though she wanted to get away as soon as possible she had no intention of walking around much longer in just that sheet, and there was far more likely she'd find clothes inside than outside. Up the stairs she went.

Up on the first floor she walked up to a panorama window and peered inside. "I wonder what sort of room there is on the other side" she mumbled to herself. "I can see light flicker from candles inside, but it's too dark to see anything else." She went back to the stairs and ascended to the second floor. There were no flowers decorating the sides here, just the banisters. Reaching the end of the stairs she came to a blue door with panorama windows on each side. She slowly opened the door and stepped inside.

Fiona wasn't sure what she'd expected to see inside the castle, but from the old, clearly medieval appearance of the outside area and the horrible room in which she'd waken up in she prepared for the worst -and got a pleasant surprise for the first time since waking up. The room was warm and nice, not too big, not too small. The lower part of the walls were of stone and the upper half were of wood. There was a huge, wooden made fan attached to the ceiling. It was slowly rotating. To the right was a small wooden furniture piece with shelves filled with plants, books, different ornaments and something that was clearly not medieval -a small TV. In the middle of the room was a sitting area consisting of a sofa, two chairs and a table. Lining the walls were plants, paintings and tables and shelves with more ornaments on them. In the middle of the room, lining the wall were three small steps to the other part of the room, the "bedroom part". On the higher part was a grandfather's clock, a fireplace, a bed, a chest with drawers, a floor lamp and more paintings and ornaments. There was also a door right next to the fireplace. Determined to find something else to wear, she closed in on the door. "I can't walk around in just these sheets" she reminded herself. "Call me old-fashioned, but I'd rather wear a normal set of clothes instead of these white sheets." It would take more to loose her wits than being trapped alone in a strange medieval castle.

As she put her hand on the doorknob, she froze. The eerie feeling of being watched made the hair in her neck stand up. She felt her skin tingle, a sensation caused by every small hair on her body rising in apprehension. There had been no one in the room, yet the feeling of being watched grew stronger and stronger. Surely it was just her imagination, paranoia. She turned her head slightly to the left and felt her heart almost jump out of her chest. The sight of a woman right next to the bed, dressed in green and white nearly caused her to faint. Judging by the uniform she wore, she was probably one of the maids working in the castle. But where did she come from? How had she entered the room?

The woman stood absolutely still, with a slight smile on her face she observed Fiona for a few seconds. When the woman finally spoke it was with a low and monotone, almost mechanical voice. "I've gathered some clothes for you" she said, pointing her right arm towards something on the bed. Fiona was absolutely certain there had been nothing there a minute ago. Taking her gaze away from Fiona, the woman started to slowly walk towards the door next to Fiona. Her face was completely devoid of feelings now. The woman's movement as well as her expression was almost robotic like, though she was blessed with a stunning, almost unreal beauty. In fact, she was the most beautiful woman Fiona had ever seen. Fiona felt her apprehension growing and backed away from the door as the woman came closer. There was definitely something strange about her. But she also desperately wanted to know what was going on, and there was no one else to ask.

"Wait, don't go." she said, hoping she wouldn't regret it. The maid stopped, and slowly turned her head to look at her. She was perfect; Fiona couldn't find a single flaw on her anywhere. She had lavender coloured hair which fell nicely over her face covering the right eye and curled over her shoulders.

"Um, excuse me, but where are we?" she asked softly. "And how did I get here?"

Instead of answering Fiona's questions, the maid shifted her gaze to a point slightly over Fiona's left shoulder.

The woman spoke with the same mechanical voice. "Yes, master… we will keep her here for a while… I will make sure she stays _comfortable_."

Fiona turned her head in the direction the maid's eyes were staring. The woman had been speaking to a portrait of a middle-aged man Fiona had noticed when walking towards the door. Fiona stared closely at the man on the painting. Why had she..? Then a flash of memory… of a man dressed in dark. Fiona couldn't make out his face, but he was lifting his hat while staring down at her. She felt dizzy, fell to the floor and started to hyperventilate. She didn't know who or when, but she sensed fear. After a few seconds her breeding had returned to normal, she looked up and noticed the maid was now gone….

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So far I've been 100 per cent true to the storyline, but this will start to change already in the next chapter ever so slightly. My main objective for these two chapters have been to present this awesome game to people who haven't played it yet, make them curious. But as i promised in the description, I'll add my personal explanatins to some of the things not fully explained and what I think Daniella and Riccardo were up to "off screen".

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**AerithGast88 - **thank you Lesley, that was just what I was aiming for. I hope this chapter wasn't too boring since it's pretty much what happends in the game. The next chapter is almost done and I've already started to add a lil bit of my own twist.


	3. Chapter 2 Slowly Starting to Remember

CHAPTER TWO -STARTING TO REMEMEBER

Alone in the room again, Fiona stood up and walked towards the bed. At least she had something else to wear now. The clothing was neatly pressed and folded with not a single wrinkle on them. She stretched out her hand and touched the fabric. It felt soft and delicate, probably a mixture of Egyptian cotton and fine silk. Again she felt the tingling sensation of being watched, but this time she was sure she was alone in the room. She dropped the sheet, allowing it to completely fall to the floor and started to dress immediately in case anyone else would enter the room. The clothing was a lovely, medieval style dress with long, puffy sleeves and detailed embroidery on the chest and around the waist. The upper part was a creamy white blouse with some darker-greenish parts of repetitive pattern across the chest and on the sleeves just above and below the elbows and at the wrists. It was made of the finest cotton she'd ever felt. A clear blue jewellery was attached to the chest. The lower part consisted of a purple see-through miniskirt and (thankfully) hot pants of silk. She tightened the clothing with a blue silk-ribbon on the back. The piece was almost like tailor made for Fiona, except for some tightness at the chest area it clung perfectly to her figure. But she was used to that. A size 4 and a double D cup was never a good combination when it came to upper part clothing.

Suddenly she noticed something on the bed, almost hidden between the sheets. She picked it up and gasped. It was hers, one of her most precious belongings. She instinctively touched her bare neck. She hadn't even noticed that it was gone. In her hand she held the present from her parents on her sweet sixteen birthday, a choker of brown leather with a jade stone attached. Her mother had told her it brought out the colour of her eyes. She'd been wearing it every day since. Why was it laying here? Where were her clothes?

There was also a pair of long, dark socks on the bed as well as a pair of brown knee high boots on the floor beside. She slipped on the socks and zipped up the boots. They had patterns on the sides, the same style as the shirt she was now wearing. "Ah, this feels much better." She studied the garment some more. There was no doubt someone had put a lot of hard work into making it. And it had definitely not been centuries ago. On the contrary, despite the medieval style Fiona suspected it was made quite recently. She was also certain she was the first to wear it.

"Wait a minute!" It came out aloud. It must have been the sight of the choker that had opened up a closed area. Together with the strong feeling she'd had when she had looked at that painting of the middle aged man a minute ago. Stepping towards the picture, she started to remember. "I remember being in the car with…" her parents..? Yes, she had definitely been in a car with her parents, Ugo and Ayla Belli. Eighteen, soon-to-be-nineteen year old Fiona had recently started in college and it had been the first time she'd seen her parents in weeks. They'd decided to go away for the weekend, where she couldn't remember, but it was definitely not _this place._ So why was she here now? Where were her parents? And what was the man on the painting's role in this? It was a powerful piece of art indeed. The man seemed to be in his 50's and was dressed in an old-fashioned clothing. "The eyes really feel like they are peering deep into one's soul" she thought. Turning around, she walked to another portrait on the opposite wall, of a much younger man in a blue cloak with white collar. He was in his 30's, quite handsome with hazel hair. As Fiona was wondering whose portrait it was, the feeling of having seen that person somewhere before grew stronger and stronger. "But that doesn't make any sense" she thought.

Despite her young age, Fiona knew a lot about art. She was currently taking a course in ancient-medieval art and poetry at college. She was very much looking forward to the Renaissance period in the next semester, her favourite period in the history of man. Though she loved every second of it, she knew it wasn't what she'd end up working with. Her love and passion for the artistic, however strong, would always be a hobby. She took these classes while trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. She'd definitely be working with either humans or animals, she wanted to make a difference, do something that was rewarding. Right now it stood between veterinarian and nurse, though she was leaning mostly towards vet studies. Quite shy since childhood, Fiona had always thought it was easier to bond with animals than humans. She'd been working as a volunteer at an animal shelter since she was fourteen, and was a strong believer in animal rights. The only problem was that as a vet you occasionally have to put animals to sleep, and she strongly doubted she had it in her to do so. Thankfully, her parents were understanding, choosing a career is a very important decision that should in no way be rushed. However, as Ugo had pointed out, college is expensive so she had to decide before next year.

Outside the panorama window at her right the sky had gone brighter red. "The sun is starting to set and with it will come night." Her parents was probably somewhere in the castle too, she'd have find a map over the area and cover as much of the castle as she could before dark. She hurried towards the door, but stopped in her tracks when she noticed the painting on the other side of the sitting area on the lower part of the room. She felt a tingle, could it be..? She needed a closer look to be sure. She stepped down on to the lower part, past a pair of decorating scales, around the sitting area and went past an empty birdcage and a bisque doll she'd just noticed and closed up at the painting. It was that of a very young man with a noble air around him. Yep, she'd been correct. Though the man was much younger here, perhaps her age, it was no mistake that the three paintings had been created using the same model. When passing the middle aged man again on her way back to the door she was certain, "every painting features the same person. Perhaps it's the lord of the castle." Or had been centuries ago.

She opened the door next to the fireplace and went through. It was time to start exploring.

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**I hope you all have enjoyed the story so far. Next chapter on its way:) Though I'll be giving my own private description of the protagonist's thoughts and personalities, I'll always stay true to the caracters. Same goes for storyline and Belli castle itself. I'm not gonna include every little feature, some parts and puzzles I may simplify or skip all together and some I'll elaborate more.**

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**AerithGast88 - I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. Remember we talked about what Fiona might be studying? I think we both had such excellent suggestions so I found a way to use all of them:D Actually I was just thinking about whether or ****not to include Leon. One part of me want to throw him in and make it a FxL fanfic, but the other part wants it to be strickly HG. I've got a good idea of how the story will be up until Fiona finds Hewie, but after that it's pretty much open, so I dunno yet. If I do decide not to include him, I'll write another story which will be FxL.**


	4. Chapter 3 The 1st Exploration

CHAPTER THREE - THE FIRST EXPLORATION OF THE CASTLE

On the other side of the door, Fiona found herself in a small hallway with a descending staircase to the right and a door made of wood to her left. Fiona stepped up to a window next to the stairs, stretched her neck and peered out. It was darkening fast and the view was dim, but Fiona was certain she could ever so slightly make out the shape of a building in the distance. She felt a little jump of excitement building up in her tummy; maybe this place wasn't as deserted as she'd initially thought. The TV, the rotating fan and the lamps meant electricity, which again meant that the castle must be connected by wires to a power station which also meant contact with the outside world and civilization! With her spirit high, she stepped down the stairs and took a few seconds to study another magnificent piece of art. Half way down were two beautiful paintings of people folding their hands in prayers, they appeared to be a set of twin paintings. At the bottom of the steps was a locked door. "Darn, just my luck." There was nothing else down there except for a small storage area. "I'd better try my luck upstairs", she thought. Jogging up the steps again she glanced one more time at the pictures, thinking "If I had the time, I'd like to spend more time taking in the painting's full beauty and artistic splendour."

Passing the small windows again she re-assured herself that there must be civilization close by. The only other means to get electricity was through a generator but to feed a huge building like this with enough power, an enormously huge generator would be required so surely that couldn't be the case, could it?

Upstairs again and on the other side of the wooden door Fiona was now in another hallway. Columns with leafs growing on them lined the left side. It was actually quite a beautiful sight. Fiona studied them while walking through the corridor. Hm, it appeared one of the pillars had a crimson tinge at its bottom. She closed in on it, and immediately wished she hadn't. The horrible sight meeting her made her go ice cold. It was smeared with blood! She could feel her skin tingle again; the hairs were rising caused by flushes of adrenaline. Droplets of recently coagulated blood were on the sides and on the floor too. "Why is it blood here?" Did she want to know? She forced her eyes away from the appalling sight and focused on a door on the other side. It too, was locked. She had to force herself to think about something else, to focus on the main objective for now; to cover as much of the castle as she possible could before dark. In order to do that she needed a map. "There seems to be a lot of locked doors around here, if I find any keys, I'd better take them with me just in case," she agreed with herself.

A little longer down the hallway she passed another wooden door, this one open. Fiona figured she couldn't be too careful in a place like this and warily peeked into the room on the other side as not to alarm any possible inhabitants who might be hostile. Nor did she want to walk up to another gruesome sight. But the room seemed perfectly normal. All the walls were more or less lined with shelves filled with books. At the far end was a blackboard with some notes scribbled on it and a chair and a desk. Clearly the castle study room. Curious, Fiona started to walk into the room to get a better look at the blackboard and the desktop when she heard a sound. Ears sharpened, she turned towards the noise which came further down the hallway.

A few steps towards the unidentified sound Fiona realized it came from a human. It sounded like heavy breading, almost like panting. Was someone hurt? She slowed down when reaching a corner. The path continued to the right. To the left was only a small table, a chair and a door blocked by a box. Carefully, she peeked around the corner. A shadow… of a huge being… then suddenly… movement.

It must have been because she was alone in this unknown place, she was worried about her parents, or perhaps the horrible sights of blood from before, blood had always made her cringe. Her nerves were on the edge. A doll came flying past and made her jump so hard she fell back and landed on her bum. But what came next was more than enough reason to be scared. The shadow grew bigger and bigger as its owner came closer and closer. It belonged to an enormous disfigured man, a creature at least two and a half meters in length with a large mass and a nearly bald head that looked ridiculously small compared to the marble round dark eyes and the huge, deformed body. His clothes were covered in filth and blood and it was pretty obvious, even from several feet away, that the term "personal hygiene" was unknown to the creature.

As the creature bent down to pick up the doll Fiona noticed a set of keys attached to his belt, but trying to grab them might be a bit risky in case the huge man turned out to be agressive. He was now holding the doll in his hand, changing his attention between Fiona and the scruffy piece of filth and broken porcelain that had once been a lovely bisque doll. Fiona was still sitting on the floor, not sure how to handle the situation. He appeared to be harmless enough, but you could never know. Especially in this place where one place would seem perfectly normal and the next would be all blood stained and grotesque. Seconds later she knew…

The creature threw away the doll and had now turned his full attention towards Fiona. He started to growl like a beast and raising his hands in excitement. Fiona quickly rose to her feet and started running in the opposite direction, praying that he wouldn't follow her. He did. Adrenaline was racing through her veins again, "It seems like he'd rather play with me than that doll of his, but I have no plans to stick around for that." She ran the only way she knew, back to the room where she'd changed clothes and slammed the door shut. "Now what? If I don't do something that… _thing _is going to get me." Fiona was gifted with the ability of quick and rational thinking even in stressful situations, a gift she would heavily rely on for the next couple of hours. She knew she had a better chance to loose him by finding a nearby hiding spot in the area she'd already covered than running outside where she didn't know the paths yet and risked getting either trapped or lost. Besides, he didn't seem to be that bright. She figured the best she could do at the moment was to hide under the bed.

A slamming of the door then footsteps, _he _was in the room. Fiona was so scared she didn't even dare to breathe. Her heart was racing, she felt sure he could hear the beats. He tramped around, growing more frustrated every minute. "My dolly. Where is you?" he'd grunt out every now and then. Fiona suspected he'd find her at any moment, but he didn't. Two minutes later, though it felt like two hours, he went out the door which Fiona had first entered, the one leading out of the castle.

She waited for a couple of more minutes before she crawled out. Partly to be sure he was gone, partly to calm her pulse down. No way was she going to exit the same door he had, so she went back to where she'd been when she'd ran into the beast. Back in the corridor, when she felt she had enough distance, she started jogging to the end of the hallway careful not to look at that blood-stained column. When she reached the place where she'd encountered the creature, she looked right. It was a dark and dusty corridor with a broken chandelier dangling from the ceiling which made an eerie, squeaky sound. It wasn't a place Fiona wanted to go. It seemed to be a dead end too. The small table to her left on the other hand, appeared to be perfectly normal. There were windows here too, Fiona hoped to spot another building, but it was way to dark to see. The sun was setting fast. She pushed the box out of the way and opened the door. When she was on the other side of the room, she felt even more puzzled, but at least one thing was certain. "This place will never cease to weird me out," she mumbled.

The room in which she now stood appeared to be some sort of a medieval laboratory. In the middle of the room was a table filled with strange equipments. They looked quite old; still someone had been taken painstakingly good care of them. A fire was burning with an intense heat. With a temperature that high, it could only be used for refining. The walls were lined with more old, strange looking equipment and books about refinement and alchemy. There was another door in the room, but it was blocked by a huge doll-like sculpture that appeared to be made of… _earth??_ That huge thing would be impossible to move for someone as petite as Fiona. Another dead end... or was it? It had a slot-shaped hole on its chest, a recess that something thin and flat would fit into. "I wonder if there isn't a way for me to move this," she wondered. Her eyes scanned the room. Strange, crimson marks were painted on the wall at each side of the earthen sculpture. There was something about them that made Fiona feel uneasy. Her eyes finally fell on a very old document that was lying on the table next to where she stood. She picked it up for a closer look. The edges were curled and it had been discoloured from time, but the writing was still legible –a description of the thing that was blocking the door. It read: "A deciphering of the book of origins, Seferm Yetira, has uncovered the process for creating "life from earth-soil." This golem needs neither nourishment nor sleep making this earthen guardian the ultimate safe-keeper of our deepest alchemic secrets and knowledge. I dub this creature EMETH." _So_... it appeared the statue of soil, a golem, served as some sort of guardian. She wandered around the room. She found nothing else labelled "Golem" or "Emeth". Nor did she see anything that would fit into the slot on its chest. Did she really have to go into the dark and gloomy corridor? It was the only accessible place where she hadn't searched yet and she had to find a way to move the golem. There must be an important reason it was there in the first place, blocking the door.

She hurried past the dangling chandelier and soon found herself next to a door at the end of the hallway. The door was to her left; ahead was yet another painting, this time of a woman with wings protruding from her back. An angel, perhaps? The door handle was rusty and coated with dust, there were no fingerprints to be seen which meant no one had been using that door for quite some time. When opening the door, Fiona could tell the hinges were rusty too. She could only hope the huge creature from earlier wasn't around nearby somewhere listening. She was yet in another of the castle's many rooms, but this one had been unused for years. There was no lightning, just a few rays of sunlight coming in from outside. Dust and cobwebs were everywhere; the maid had obviously not been cleaning here for a while - the forgotten room. In the ceiling there had once been a magnificent chandelier, but it was now on the floor in pieces. What could've happened? Fiona carefully stepped inside. A "mind your footing"-sign would have been useful. Many of the floor-tiles had loosened and shifted out of place. Near one of the windows stood a birdcage similar to the one Fiona had seen in the first room - the castle suite, she figured. But this one was not empty; she could see the remaining husk of a bird, impossible to tell what sort, in the cage. It too, had been forgotten. "The terrible things people do to animals these days," she thought. "It's just so upsetting." There was nothing that could be done about it now, she went to the other side of the forgotten room, past a couple of chairs and up to… whatever it was. "What sort of contraption is this?" she whispered. "It's not a computer that's for sure. It has alphabetic keys, though." It was even equipped with an enter key. She'd never find out anything if she didn't dare to try, she decided to write her name. F - I - O - N - A - ENTER, she pressed. Two seconds later the device made a loud sound which made Fiona jump, and shot out a thin plate. Fiona carefully picked it up, thin, flat with her name printed on. "Why build a machine for this sole purpose? What is it that the plates do?" She still had the old parchment in the other hand. Peering down on both items, she felt something clicked. _That slot on the golem…could it be…_ It was definitely worth a try, but what to print, golem or emeth? She opted for the latter one since it had been in bold letters. E - M - E - T - H - ENTER, cling! Leaving the other plate and the parchment behind, she hurried back to the golem.

The plate went perfectly into the slot, and the golem started to move immediately. Slowly but certain it stepped away from the door, to the left and came to a still. Fiona wondered what sort of mechanic there was inside the thing and how it worked. Not to mention what was on the other side of the door. She turned the handle and found herself outside on an empty porch. So this was the deep alchemic secret that had to be guarded? The only logical explanation was that the golem was guarding whatever might be on the inside of the door rather than what was on the outside. Then again, noting about this place seemed logical so there was no way to be sure.

At the end of the porch was a descending staircase. This unexpectedly ended half way down. Yep, nothing logical about this place indeed. The more Fiona starred over the edge, the more she got the feeling of being sucked down. Thankfully, there was a ladder she could climb down.

Down on the ground again she found herself in a small, closed up area on the outside premises. Not much was down here; a sealed well, a bench which faced the wall and two doors, the left one locked and the right one unlocked. Easy choice. She didn't close the door behind, she wanted to leave all doors open in case she had to flee again like she had earlier. She made first a left turn, then a right and was now in another small, closed up outside area. There were red barrels to the left, a door guarded by goddess statues on both sides to the right and a wooden fence on the other side. There seemed to be a path on the other side of the fence, but it was securely shut. She had to find another way.

Bummed, she walked towards the door. Then she heard it. First she thought it was all in her head, but when she stood right next to the door there was no doubt. On the other side, someone was playing the piano. Ear on door she listened carefully. She recognized the tones as Liebestraume Notturno by the Austrian-Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt, one of her favourite classical pieces. She'd played it so many times she'd memorized it. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy contemporary music, she most certainly did, however classical pieces had this calming and soothing effect no other music genre could offer. She'd danced ballet since she was 5 and played the piano since the age of 10. Unfortunately after starting college, she had no longer time for ballet classes.

Door opened she stepped into another unknown room, obviously the music room. She passed a large and bulky harp to her right and went up to a small table in the middle of the room. Different musical instruments and books about music took up most of the place, but she could see no piano. The music had to come from upstairs. There were no stairs either; Fiona wondered how the person had accessed the upper level. And more importantly, had he/she noticed her? The music piece ended, and whoever was up there started playing the same piece again. Fiona was curious, but at the same time dubious. She doubted that neither the _thing_ nor the maid could play pieces like that, meaning there must be yet another person inhabiting the castle. Was it the lord playing, perhaps? Should she speak, should she keep silent? Her gaze shifted to something in one of the chairs, yet another statue judging by the shape of the sheet covering it. But she probably shouldn't snoope around things she knew nothing about. Covering the windows were huge purple curtains, she also noticed a sturdy bookshelf of fine design and on the round table, a key…Deciding to keep silent, she stretched out her hand in order to take the key and head out before the one playing had noticed her. She was too late. She heard the terrible noise of someone striking all ten fingers simultaneously on the piano keys, gasped and looked up. She sensed, more than saw or heard, someone rising up and stepping away from the piano. Then she heard a deep, masculine voice:

"Ah, Fiona. I see you've finally awakened."

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**Oooo who might that be?? Phew, my longes chapter so far. Now some of you might wonder why I bothered including the golem/forgotten room, well you're just gonna have to wait and see. You'll understand in the next chapter. However, I'll be taking a wee break from writing now. cheers!**

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Hiya Aerithgast88. That's good to hear. I was a lil worried I had included to much details, but I just love HG sooooo much. Tho I have to limit myself from now on or else I'll never get around to the fun stuff.


	5. Chapter 4 Riccardo

CHAPTER FOUR - RICCARDO

She stepped back and stretched her neck in order to try and get a glimpse of the man speaking, but she saw nothing. She was certain she'd never heard that voice before; nevertheless there was something familiar about it. He obviously knew her name, was _he _the one who had brought her to this place? If so, then he probably knew the whereabouts of her parents!

The man spoke again. "There's something that I've wanted to show you for quite some time," he said, stressing the word _time._ "Pull away that sheet behind you." It was an order.

Fiona turned around and looked at the covered statue again. She hesitated,"What could he possibly have wanted to show me..?" Warily, she put the right hand to her chest and slowly started to walk around the table. Thought somewhat curious, she wasn't exceptionally excited about the idea of uncovering whatever was underneath the cloth. Most of all, she wanted to grab the key on the table and move on, but she was afraid that if she didn't do as he said, he'd come down from wherever he was and hunt her down.

When she was next to where the statue was placed, she stretched out her right hand and quickly pulled away the sheet. She got the shock of her life. "W -What is this thing!" She immediately went ice cold. She stood there, paralysed and unable to stop staring at the uncovered figure. The man however, sounded quite happy with the situation. He spoke again, either oblivious to or uncaring about how upsetting this was for her.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

It felt like her feet were glued to the floor. Both hands were now on her stomach. She started to feel nauseous. Beautiful? "Why would anyone in their right mind put something like this here?!" What he said next made her stomach turn.

"_That _my dear, is what you will become in the future." _Hell no!_

"Go ahead… You may touch it." Soft tone, but still callous. The monologue ended with a ruthless"You _will _be mine, Fiona," followed by a sinister laughter then dead silence.

What she'd just uncovered made her skin crawl. It was no longer any doubt; she needed to get the hell out before it was too late. The statue itself may not have been particularly upsetting, but for Fiona it was more horrifying than both the blood-stained column and the butchered animals. It was that of a young female, not unlike Fiona herself. What gave Fiona the creeps was the fact that the young woman was pregnant. Fiona thought about the man's words and their implications. Was all this just a sick joke? Or a terrible nightmare? Either way, none of this would happen, she would not get pregnant here and she'd certainly never be _his. _She grabbed the key and hurried for the door.

- - - - - - - - -

The stranger, who went by the name Riccardo, stood next to the piano with a smug grin on his face. From there, he was able to see Fiona perfectly. "This couldn't have worked out better even if I'd planned it myself," he thought. Did she steal something from the table? A key perhaps? Debilitas, the castle's gardener and handyman, was usually conscientious; though not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. He had the unpleasant habit of leaving keys everywhere. Once, Riccardo had found the key to one of his desk drawers on the ground under the laundry room on the other side of the castle! Go figure.He was quite pleased to see that she was wearing the dress he'd have made especially for her. From endless photos he'd taken over the last three years, he'd estimated her measures and ordered the maid, Daniella, to sew a beautiful medieval-style dress. The design was his own, his welcoming gift to her. It was also the first step in the process to have her realize she now belonged here. The sooner she accepted her new life and destiny, the better for them both. The next step now was to properly introduce himself to her and deliver the sad news about her parents…

When he heard the door slam shut he walked up to the banister and peered down. He stood a few seconds to saviour the moment. He'd spent a very long time making that sculpture, every second he'd been looking forward to this precise moment, wondering about how she'd react when she finally saw it. Now the time had finally come, after years of planning and preparing, spying and endless waiting she was finally here to be his - forever.

Although he'd been rather surprised to see her down there, he thought he'd handled the unexpected situation quite well. He'd intended to show her the sculpture himself later tonight. His plan had been to give the young girl a private tour around Belli castle after supper, though it seemed the lass was quite capable of showing herself around. He'd rather have her reading or watching TV in the suite for the time being, but he figured he couldn't deny her to walk around. This was after all, her castle too.

He started to walk down a small stair to the left, towards one of the thick, purple curtains. It seemed to be a dead end, but behind the curtain was a hidden, narrow staircase down to the lower level. There was also a door to his left, but for now, he wanted to keep it locked. When he lifted the curtain, dust filled the air and made him sneeze. The fabric was so old it didn't take much handling to tear the cloth apart. This was one of many areas the maid was ordered to stay away from. As he was walking down the stairs, something started to puzzle him. In all his excitement he hadn't really thought about it before now. How had she gotten down there in the first place? The door which led into the dining room was locked; he'd given strict order to both Debilitas and Daniella to keep it shut until supper time. There was no way she'd opened the barrier outside, the golem blocked the door in the refining room, so how had she..? He assessed the possibilities as he was descending the staircase. His subordinates knew better than to disobey him and there was no way she could possibly have moved the golem, at least not by muscle force. Not even Debilitas was strong enough to do that. The only way to move the golem… could she have… it was the most likely scenario, but then she must have…

Then, as he pulled away the curtain on the ground floor and stepped into the light again, he realized how she'd done it. It was such a long time since he'd been doing research here in the castle, he'd completely forgotten about the old parchment. It was probably still lying on the table in the refining room. And the plate-pressing machine _was in a nearby room_. Annoyed by his own carelessness, he decided to check the rest of the castle just in case anything else had slipped his mind. _The forgotten room, _it was years since he'd last been in there. No one had. It was actually good news, he needed to speak with the maid later, in private, without the old man eavesdropping. The forgotten room was the perfect place.

He stepped up to the sculpture of Fiona and touched the pregnant belly. "Soon," he thought to himself. He was actually a little impressed. She had found both the document and the plate-pressing machine and had obviously put two and two together. _Clever girl_. Just like her father, Ugo. Unexpected, but nothing to worry about. It wasn't the first surprise he'd had these last twenty-four hours. Everything would proceed according to plan, the time line had just changed somewhat that was all.

He put his hand inside his hooded sweater and between glass spheres of antimony, weeping stones and other oddities created by alchemy he found what he was looking for. In his hand he held a glass vial which contained dancing purple orbs. He didn't think there'd be any more surprises, but just in case… He went out the door. Outside he opened the vial and watched the orbs fly out and into the air heading left. The smirk reappeared on his face. The luminessants wouldn't hurt Fiona, but if she decided to wander of again, the bugs would reveal her whereabouts.

- - - - - - - - -

Back in the small garden with the covered-up well, Fiona decided to try her luck on the locked door. The key was labelled"garden key" and she was in a garden. Sort of. She put the key in the hole and turned around. _Click_. The now unlocked door seemed to lead her into the castle again. When she was about to open it, Fiona noticed a strange flying orbit to her right. It looked like some sort of firefly or damselfly, but then again not. She'd never seen or heard of a bug with such an intense purple glow, though it was very beautiful whatever it was, especially for an insect. The orbit came closer and closer, it was almost like it was heading straight towards her, how curious. She stretched out her hand to wave the fly away when the pain hit her. As the flying orb came in contact with her face, she felt a powerful electric shock paralysing her for a short second and made her heart beat irregularly.

"What the -", she screamed out.

Rubbing her temple, she hurried inside and closed the door in case there were more of them. _What was that thing? _

She had been correct; she was now inside the castle again. She stood in a small, almost empty place. The wall to her left side had an indentation. Inside the indentation stood a chair. "What an odd place to put a chair," she thought. There was no table or phone or anything like that next to it. "It's just a normal chair, right?" Repeatedly encountering oddities made Fiona feel more than a bit uneasy. The only way to go was a corridor to her left. She passed a grandfather clock like the one she had see in the suite, and a red door with no handle, knob or keyhole. Fiona wondered how to open it.

At the end of the hallway, there was only a restroom. Fiona drank some water and curiously studied the communal toilets. She went through the only other door in the corridor, and was now in the kitchen. Meat was obviously being served that night. The sight of the large meaty lumps and the many sharp knives reminded Fiona of the place in which she'd woken up. She felt chills going down her spine, and was seriously considering becoming a vegetarian. But besides the fact that the kitchen unit looked like a butcher's workbench, the kitchen appeared to be normal -mostly. There was even a refrigerator and a stove at the other side of the bench. An empty pot stood on top of the oven. Someone would most likely start cooking in a short time. The sink next to the oven was caked with a thick-reddish-black discoloration. Fiona once again had this eerie feeling that something was amiss. She disliked this place more and more by every minute.

On her way to a door on the opposite wall, Fiona passed shelves filled with varied ornate and high class china. They had all been polished to sparkling perfection. "The building itself may be old," Fiona thought. "But the interior seems to have been put through a punctilious and precise regimen of daily cleaning."

The kitchen led logically enough into the dining room. There were huge red curtains draping the windows, small ornaments and pictures alongside the walls and, of course, a long dining table covered by a red cloth in the middle of the room. There was only one chair at each narrow side of the table, but a great number of candlesticks on top. There were way too many candlesticks on the table. She walked next to the candlestick-filled table towards yet another door at the end of the room while studying a large tapestry suspended on one of the walls. And embroidery of one of the castle's many crests perhaps?

The door was locked, but luckily this time the key was in the key hole. She unlocked and opened the door. Fiona got quite surprised when she saw a familiar area; the stairs and the parallel paintings. She jumped when she heard footsteps tramping upstairs. The encounter with the huge man fresh in mind, she decided not to take any chances. She closed the door quickly, but quietly, and ran towards the kitchen again. _What to do now? _Then she noticed a path down to a lower level. She hadn't seen it when she first entered the kitchen; it had been out of her vision.

The path led down to a wine cellar -a bodega. Numerous expensive spirits stretched along the wine racks. "Come to think of it, my father is quite the wine connoisseur," Fiona suddenly remembered. Her parents preferred to keep a very low profile, her father working as a handyman/freelancer and her mother as a translator. But since Ugo was rumoured to be one of England's best experts of wine tasting, keeping a low profile wasn't always easy. He'd even been on national TV. When Fiona had asked her father why they didn't want permanent employments, he simply answered they didn't like the feeling of being tied up. They wanted the freedom to just take of and leave. They had never acted on it, though. They'd been living in London for as long as Fiona could remember.

On a small table in the middle of the bodega laid a piece of yellow paper that caught Fiona's interest. It was a hand-drawn castle sketch. _Belli castle _it said on top of the paper. _Her _last name was Belli, was it just a coincidence or… She didn't know much about her ancestors; her parents, especially her father, had always been very secretive about that particular subject. She'd learned it was best not to ask. But now she had to know. "I _must _find my parents," she thought. She stuffed the sketch inside one of her boots and headed up the stairs back into the kitchen. She remembered to late, the footsteps she'd heard only five minutes ago. She froze; maybe she should've been down in the bodega a few minutes longer. But then again, there was no time to loose. She listened carefully, stepping slowly towards the kitchen desk. _"What was that?" _She jumped and let out a small gasp. Was there someone in the room? She kept moving, eyes frantically scanning the place. When she reached the kitchen desk she placed her hand on a wooden pillar that went from the end of the desk to the ceiling. She listened carefully, but heard nothing. She moved her hand from the pillar to the desk and traced it with her hand as she continued walking. Still not a sound. When her heart rate had calmed down she drew in a deep breath and exhaled in relief. It must have been her imagination, there was no one here. A second later she found out she'd been wrong, deadly wrong. The beast from earlier came out from behind the counter, threatening, screaming. Fiona froze in horror and stared at him, shocked and disgusted. The monster was now within two inches of her face, grunting, growling like an animal, a beast. Fiona could smell his bad breath and feel his excitement build up. She reacted instinctively. When she jumped away a fraction of a second before the monster grabbed her it was pure reflex. She landed on her back again, but this time she didn't stay down. She rose as quickly as she could and staggered towards the closest door, the one leading out to the corridor. She could hear the ogre waving his arm trying to catch her.

She could hardly use her feet when she slammed the door shut. She felt the panic rise inside her. For a short moment she just stood there motionless. "_You have to get away," _said a voice inside her head. Fiona wasn't sure if it was her own voice, but she ran to the right since the left path was a dead end. But she was too shaken, she stumbled on a small step and she fell hard. She felt a jolting pain in her ankle. _Oh, no what now!_

She started rubbing the hurt ankle. She moaned in pain when she touched the sore parts. It didn't seem to be serious, but she couldn't run on it. Not without some rest anyway. She lifted her gaze and felt the panic rise again when she saw the doorknob move and the door slide open. She forgot all about the pain in the ankle. _The beast was now in the corridor. _He turned towards her and when he saw Fiona again he opened his mouth wide and let out a growl. He raised his hands and started walking towards her undoubtedly ecstatic because he had found her once again. Fiona felt the panic building up. She struggled to get control over her arms and legs as she staggered away from the monster. First on all four, then she finally managed to rise to her feet. But she didn't get far. The pain in her ankle stopped her after a few steps.

She was almost at the entrance to the small garden. Was there a shadow by the door? She stretched her neck in an attempt to get a closer look. She saw no one, but she was certain there was somebody there. Behind her, on the other hand, there was undoubtedly someone. A monster, a beast that clearly wanted to hurt her. She could hear his breathing again, he was right behind her. She turned and there he was, only two yards away. She noticed one of his incisors was missing. She tried to speak, but could only make a pitiful sound. No words would come out. She raised her hands as to protect herself and tried to back away, but her ankle refused to carry her weight. She was completely defenseless, she could only hope and pray for a miracle. The beast lifted his hand…

"_Exire Debilitas!"_They both jumped at the deep, male voice coming from behind them. It was harsh, strict and authoritative. Fiona turned to see who was speaking, but she saw no one. She turned to face the best again. The voice clearly belonged to someone he heavily respected. He lowered his hand and slowly turned, grunting. Before he walked away he turned his head to look at Fiona one last time, clearly disillusioned. Fiona, still shaken, watched him as he disappeared down the corridor.

"Please excuse me miss." the sound of the voice speaking again made her quickly turn around. The shadow she had seen only minutes ago stepped out from the darkness. Ten feet down the corridor stood a hooded man. He was dressed in a brown monk like costume, a hood covering his face. He was of average height and mass.

"I am Riccardo, keeper of the castle." It was the same person who had been speaking to her in the music room, the stranger with the familiar, but at the same time un-familiar voice. Fiona stood absolutely still; she did not know what else to do besides trying to remember where she'd heard the voice before. What Riccardo said next made her forget all about that for a long time.

"So sorry to hear about your accident. Your parents…"

Accident? Her parents? She had another flashback. The accident, she'd been there, in the backseat of her parent's car. It had been night; the screams from her parents and her own filled her head. The car had been racing way to fast. Her father had lost control over it, moments later the front window had smashed into pieces.

"As Master Ugo and Mistress Ayla are both deceased you, Miss Fiona are the sole surviving _heir _of Belli castle."

Yet another flashback. She remembered the car ride with her parents clearly now. This time it was daylight. They had been driving for many hours. Her mother turned around to ask her if she was comfortable. She remembered the warmth in her smile, the love in her eyes. Her mother holding her father's hand as he was switching gears. For Ayla Belli, the family was her life. Fiona had never met anyone so loving towards one another as her parents, so happy together, so much in love even after eighteen years of marriage. And Fiona, their only child, was everything to them. They were the kindest people on the planet; they were all that Fiona had in this world. What _he_ was saying couldn't be true, he was wrong. She started to feel dizzy; the world was spinning more and more. She touched her head with both hands. _Make it go away, make all of this go away._

"Are you in pain, Miss?" she heard the voice ask with faked concern. "Will you be all right? " She felt her feet give in; they could no longer hold her weight. She fought to stay conscious, a fight she would soon loose. She could still hear the stranger talking, but he sounded so far away.

"You've had a long day. Please rest upstairs."

The last thing Fiona heard before she fainted was "Your bed had been prepared." Then everything went black.

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**I surely hope you guys liked my interpretation of Riccardo. More Riccardo stuff to come in the next chapter, me he XD**

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Heya **AerithCast88. **Ha, so did I. I typed in Hewie's name tooXD Thank you for the reviews, I know you've been looking forward to this chapter and it did come out a lil later than I promised... hope you didn't get disappointed.


	6. Chapter 5 The Accident

CHAPTER FIVE - THE "ACCIDENT"

Riccardo had assumed that the news about her parents' death would devastate her, but not that she'd conveniently faint. Good, that would keep her in the suite for a while. He walked over to the unconscious girl, her face and lips were as pale as snow. He bent down and felt her skin. It was cold and clammy from cold-sweating, typical signs of loss in blood pressure caused by mental trauma. The epinephrine had made her heart beat so fast it hadn't been able to support sufficient blood flow to the brain. The youngster had been scared stiff of Debilitas, poor, silly girl. When the creature got excited to the point of being threatening, all you had to do was give him a hard smack and he'd instantly know who the boss is. When you knew how to handle him, he was harmless, a pathetic failure, but he was also strong and obedient so Riccardo needed him around here. Being almost solely responsible for the Belli estate was no simple task indeed.

He took the lass in his arms and stood up. He grunted and cursed when he almost dropped her. Lifting and carrying an unconscious person is never easily done, not even petite Fiona Belli. He thought about the first time he'd been holding her in his arms like he was now. It had been early yesterday evening, almost exactly 24 hours ago in Provence, France. Crossing the Italian-French border had been risky, but the only way to get her to Belli castle which he'd been working so hard for these last years. The risk had been well worth taking.

With a big grin on his face, he carried the young woman back to the suite; all he could think about was how one second had changed his life so completely, how one unfortunate event could lead to something… as great as _this. _He hadn't believed in these sorts of things before a certain incident had changed his mind forever. The Belli estate is situated in a rural area well inside one of the many National Wildlife Refugees in Piedmont, Italy. It was a good two hour drive to the nearest village, hardly anyone knew about the existence of the Belli estate and those who did thought it had been unoccupied for centuries. Just the way the castle's inhabitants wanted it. And if a lost backpacker should stumble upon the walls of Belli castle, he probably wouldn't think much of it. Piedmont is filled with medieval architecture; no one would take notice of yet another ancient castle. So Riccardo was free to carry out his research undisturbed. However he was forced to occasionally make the odd trip to a rural community in order to buy miscellaneous items; groceries and supplies like salt, different chemicals, etc. However he kept it at a minimum, almost two years between visits wasn't uncommon. He'd gotten quite a shock a few years back when he was about to pay for some groceries and the cashier informed him he didn't accept lire anymore. He would only accepted payment in Euro, the new currency. The change in currency had been internationally agreed on by some organization called the European Union. Riccardo had felt like an idiot, he hated to feel like an idiot. It was then he understood he had to pay at least some attention to the outside world. Reluctantly, he bought two TV's, paid the sales clerk some extra cash to "forget" the paperwork and stole signals from a satellite. Although the reception wasn't the best here in the middle of nowhere, sometimes the signal could be gone for days. But it didn't matter; he only used the devices to watch the occasional news broadcast. However the TV had turned out to be quite a blessing. One day he felt really under the weather and was in no mood to work or study so he'd spent the evening watching a documentary about the science of spirits and wine, how different chemicals in alcoholic drinks alter the taste. One of England's best wine connoisseurs was interviewed. Riccardo had nearly fallen to the floor when he recognised the man as Ugo Belli. He'd found the Belli family by pure chance. It had gone nearly 15 years since he'd last seen the man, but it was him all right. Why he hadn't changed his name was beyond Riccardo.

With the aid from private investigators Riccardo had been spying on the Belli's, Fiona in particular, for the last three years. These last weeks, he'd been waiting for his chance. When he learned Ugo was planning a family holiday car ride to Nice in France, just a few hours driving distance from Belli castle, he knew that was his perfect opportunity.

When he reached the stairs he had to take a pause. Sweat was already starting to break on his forehead; well into his 40's he was no youth anymore. He sat down on the steps and placed Fiona on his knee and leaned her face to his chest. Her skin smelled lavender, just like her mother's, Ayla, had. The young girl looked very much like her mother indeed. She had the same platina blond hair tucked away in a pony tail, the same features. There wasn't much Belli in her, not in appearance anyway. He bent her torso forward to look once again at the red birth mark on her back and felt a buzz of excitement. And something else, a feeling he couldn't quite recognise. Happiness perhaps, for the first time in his life he felt truly happy._ "Azoth…" _he said under his breath.

While sitting on the steps with the unconscious Fiona, he relived last night again. Disguised in his black cloak and a hat he'd been driving behind them out of sight for a while, just waiting for darkness to fall. Then he'd struck Ugo's car twice with his own in an isolated area. It had been enough to make Ugo loose control over the vehicle. It went off the road and crashed hard into a pile of wood.

Luckily, there hadn't been seatbelts or airbags in the car, so the crash itself had been enough to kill Ayla, but he had to finish of Ugo himself. He'd opened the door and pushed Ugo away from the steering wheel and back to the seat. He had heard Fiona moan in the backseat as he'd plunged his twisted double-bladed sword through Ugo's chest. Ugo had tried to scream, but had only been able to make gurgling noises due to all the blood accumulating in his throat. He seemed to be in great pain for a couple of seconds, then it had been all over. Riccardo had felt no remorse; he'd wanted Ugo dead for years. Now it was finally _his_ turn.

He'd then turned his attention towards the back seat. He'd scraped pieces of broken glass from the window, lifted his hat for a better look and locked his eyes on the half-unconscious girl in the back seat. There she was Fiona Belli in flesh and blood, no longer just a statue of wood or a picture in black and white. He'd let out a loud, roaring laughter. He'd made it, now she was his, _it _was his. He would finally be complete. He'd opened the back door and quickly dragged the confused girl out. She'd tried to fight him as he'd been leading her over to his car. He'd thrown Fiona down on the backseat and picked up a bottle and a small cloth of cotton from his pocket. He'd opened the bottle, poured some liquid on the fabric and dabbed it over Fiona's mouth. The girl had calmed down instantly. Riccardo knew she was in a deep, deep sleep. The chloroform had kept her unconscious for many hours. He'd then started to rip of her clothes. First, he'd violently torn of her white blouse, destroying three buttons in the process. Then, he'd moved on to her skirt and boots. When she'd been wearing nothing but her underwear, Riccardo had studied the slim body with intense eyes, but not out of sexual interest. He'd found what he'd been looking for on her back, a distinctively shaped red birth mark over Fiona's left shoulder blade. _A pattern only reserved for the carriers of Azoth. _He'd hit the Jackpot indeed.

He'd stepped out of the vehicle for a moment in order to get something out of the boot. He'd opened the trunk and taken out a huge lump that had looked mostly like a body covered with an old, white sheet. He'd placed it on the ground next to the car where Fiona had been sleeping. He'd removed the sheets, uncovering a dead homunculus, female, about the same size and shape as Fiona. He'd removed the rest of Fiona's clothes and put them on the female homunculus. He'd always known these failures would prove useful one day. He'd covered the now naked Fiona with the sheet and carried the homunculus to Ugo's car and placed it in the backseat where Fiona had been laying. At the last moment, he'd decided to keep the jade necklace she'd been wearing in case it would prove to be valuable. He'd gone back to his car, slammed the backdoors shut and picked up a large can filled with gasoline from the trunk. He'd then sprinkled Ugo's car and the three bodies with the gas and lighted everything on fire. It didn't take long before everything had burned with intense flames. He'd went back to his car and drove of, heading to the Italian border. Over the course of the night, the flames had destroyed all evidence of foul play. Nobody would be surprised to find residues of gasoline among a burnt out car and the bodies would be incinerated to beyond identification. And if or when the car would finally be identified, it would be concluded that a tragic accident had taken place, and the bodies were those of Ugo, Ayla and Fiona Belli. No one would even know that she'd been kidnapped; no one would come looking for her… ever.

After a few hours, he'd parked the car in a cave near the castle. Debilitas had been there waiting for him. He'd ordered the creature to carry the girl inside and hide her well, while he had securely shut the castle's main gate.

Fiona started to move in his arms, she let out a soft moan which indicated that she might wake up soon. Her skin colour had now returned to normal and her lips had a gotten their pink tinge back. Riccardo rose to his feet and quickly carried her to the castle suite where he laid her down on the bed. He studied the girl, this time with a hint of sexual interest. She was a gorgeous girl indeed, so like her mother… She shifted in her sleep, maybe she was dreaming?

He left her there and went outside, down the stairs and headed right. He passed many small, empty cages before he went inside a large cage and collected steel wires and leather gloves -for protection. He had to find that mutt again. The imbecile Debilitas had hidden Fiona in a cage in the same cellar where he'd locked in that ungrateful and disobedient German Shepherd a few days ago, so now that damn beast of a dog was loose again. Fortunately, he knew just where to look for the Alsatian. On his way out of the fenced area, he spotted a rabbit jumping down the pathway. He captured it and quickly twisted its neck around. That would be dinner for tomorrow. He attached the lifeless rabbit to his belt and went inside a bush and through a well-hidden hole in the fence. On the other side was a dog training area. He could hear growling and put on the gloves and prepared the wire. It was time to teach that worthless mutt a lesson once and for all…

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**This has been the hardest chapter to write so far since I couldn't rely on the gameplay, surroundings and Fiona's comments. Anyways, that's my theories of what could've happend and what Riccardo was thinking. I just want to make clear that I don't wish to portray Riccardo as an idiot or careless or sloppy etc. On the contrary, I think he's very intelligent and cunning -not to mention cruel. But still, he has never had any real contact with the outside world and not even _him_ can think of everyting. Besides, we all know he greatly underestimated Debilitas and Daniella. And yes - the corpses can still be identified by dental records. Too bad Riccardo doesn't know that. He's probably never even been to a dentist. He really should have watched some CSI episodes;D**

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**AertihGast88 - **I'm glad you liked my character description of Riccardo in the last chapter. Now I got Fiona and Leon plate keys in my inventory too:D


	7. Chapter 6 Fiona's New Friend

CHAPTER SIX - A NEW FRIEND

For the second time that evening, Fiona Belli was stirred awake by her own screams and nightmares. Images from the impact filled her head, her parents in the front seats, surrounded by sharp pieces of broken glass as the front window went into thousand pieces. A threatening figure staring down on her. The images would not go away. Her body was trembling almost out of control, she hugged both arms tight around her chest as to try and stop the shaking. She could hear the monotone ticking from the grandfather's clock and the sparkling from the fireplace reminding her that she was still locked up in this bizarre and possibly dangerous place.

"This isn't real, this is just a dream." She said it out loud to herself; she refused to accept that her beloved parents were dead. "This can't be happening to me, it can't be." It was all just a terrible nightmare, or she was simply in shock and was imagining things.

Then she heard a sound from outside, a weep of pain coming from an animal. She stepped out of the bed, down the steps and up to the panorama window next to the door leading out. The sun had completely set, it was nearly impossible to see more than ten feet out he window, but she could ever so faintly make out the shape of a white dog in the garden down there. From the way it was howling, the dog was undoubtedly in a great pain. Left alone like that, it would most likely not make it through the night. Fiona went out and headed down the stairs with the intention of freeing that poor animal. When she came up close, she nearly burst into tears. It was a beautiful white German shepherd, inhumanely bound to the huge, well-kempt three with a wire that was cutting deep into its neck. She bent down and stroked the animal's fur to prove she meant no harm. Animals in pain can often be aggressive because of fear they feel vulnerable and usually can't tell friend form foe. However, this dog stayed calm, it was like he knew Fiona was there to help. She gently removed the wire around its neck. "Unforgivable," she thought. "I can't believe there are people out there that would do this to a poor helpless animal!" She looked at the ground, "so many wounds, so much blood, no wonder you were howling in pain."

When the dog was finally free, she said softly; "Go now, and don't get caught this time." He seemed ok, a little weak, perhaps but undoubtedly very happy to be free. The dog stepped a few steps away, turned and looked at Fiona as to say "thank you." Fiona smiled back, the first smile since the accident. "Go!" she said once more. The Alsatian ran away and Fiona watched as it disappeared through a hole in the wall to the left of the antique fountain. Probably the place where it had been hiding all along. She could only hope the poor pooch would have the strength to run away if anybody came after it. She thought about the big and freaky man form earlier. She started to shiver again and looked warily around herself. She just wanted to get out of this nightmare as soon as she could.

Who could have the heart to bind a dog with _wire_!? She left the bloody wires behind and started to search the path the right of the fountain. Several cages littered the area. They were filled with feathers and fur. "For there to be this much, it must have been torn of," Fiona thought. It was hard to tell what sort of animal it had been, but whatever it had been, Fiona doubted it was still alive. She tried to open a door to her left, but the hinges were rusted solid. "Try as I may, I can't open this door," she mumbled under her breath. She spotted a tiny rabbit jumping down the trail only two feet away from her. A baby bunny looking for its mother, perhaps? It got startled as Fiona stretched out her hand to pet it and jumped back into the bushes. "And stay in there," Fiona ordered. "It's too dangerous out here." Feeling even more depressed, Fiona went back to the stairs. There was no more to be seen.

Half way up the stairs she heard a squeaky sound. It came from an open iron door, farther down the pathway that went outside the castle's first floor. Had this door been open earlier? She felt certain she hadn't heard anything on her way down to free the dog only moments ago. She felt a surge of excitement and started to jog towards the gate, but had to slow down almost instantly. Her ankle was still to sore, she had to resume to walking. It must have been the rusty hinges that had been making that eerie noise. On the other side of the metal gate she passed a pile of rubble, which she completely ignored. The mass didn't seem sturdy enough to hold an adult anyway so there was no point in checking it out. Instead she turned her attention to the castle's main entrance farther ahead. She ran over to the gate, trying her best to ignore the jolting pain in her ankle and started to bang on the big door with both hands, crying out for help. But it was useless. The gates had been bolted securely shut, it would be impossible to open them without a key. She was forced to find another way, but right now everything just seemed hopeless. Whatever she had tried, it had always ended up being a dead end. Saddened and disappointed she slowly staggered her way back to "her" room, not knowing that _he_ was waiting for her.

She felt so depressed, she didn't even notice right away. When she finally raised her head, the sight of the beast from earlier sent waves of shock through her body, her legs gave in and she fell hard on the floor. She knew the only sound thing to do was get up and run away, but she could not move. Her legs refused to carry her weight, she tried to crawl but she was shivering so intensely, she couldn't control her limbs. The creature was sitting on the bed she'd just been sleeping in! He raised his hand in a greeting-like fashion, stood up from the bed and started to raise and lower his arms as he had before. His growling and grunting got higher and more intense as he grew more and more excited, causing the fear in Fiona's heart to rise even more. Ice cold fear froze her body once more, making her unable to move. She found herself completely defenceless against this beast of a creature.

Debilitas bent down on all four and started to slowly crawl towards Fiona. He closed in on her; millimetre by millimetre he inched towards the terrified young girl, stretching out his hand to grab her leg. She was doomed, he would kill her, she was certain of it.

"ARF, ARF" The sharp barking made both heir heads turn. The white Alsatian was standing in the middle of the room. He must have heard Fiona's scream and was now eyeing Debilitas. Had she screamed? She didn't remember. The creature rose to his feet and tried to scare the animal away by loud screams and waving his arms but Fiona sensed his apprehension.

"Help," she cried out.

The canine reacted instantly; he ran towards Debilitas, closed his jaws over his hand and stared to bite him fiercely. The creature let out a painful scream and spurted out the door.

Out of danger, Fiona got control over her limbs again. She quickly got up and closed the door shut. She leaned her back against the now closed door and let herself slide to the floor while breathing heavily. The dog was still in the room, she could hear it panting.

"Thank you," she said under her breath when she finally managed to speak again. "You saved me."

Her voice made the dog lift its head, he walked a few steps towards where she sat but hesitated. She stretched out her hand to rub his snow white fur. "Come here," she said. "Come on, boy" Encouraged by her soft tone and the kindness in her voice, the dog moved up to her and started to lick her face which made Fiona laugh.

"What's your name?" she asked laughingly. Wait a sec, she already knew his name. Pictures of the dungeon where she'd woken up flashed before her eyes. Something white fleeing over her head, a torn apart collar with a name tag.

"Hewie?"

"So you're Hewie" she said while she stroke him on the back and scratched his ears. "Well, hi Hewie!"

When hearing his name, Hewie let out two barks as to say "hi to you too."

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**Phew, two chapters at once! I got a bit impatient with this one because I had to rewrite almost the entire chapter. I lost over two hours of work because "Microsoft Works has encountered a problem and has to be shut down blah, blah, blah" Oh, well. Now I save for every other line I write;P Anyways, hoped you enjoyed.**


	8. Chapter 7 Persistent Stalker

CHAPTER SEVEN - A PERSISTENT STALKER AND A MYSTERIOUS PHONE CALL

With Hewie by her side, Fiona felt much safer. The soothing sound his claws made when his paws hit the stone covert floor calmed Fiona down. She was not alone any more, not with Hewie by her side. He was skipping around, sometimes behind her, sometimes ahead of her. His tale was wiggling happily from side to side. He too, seemed relieved to have found a friend in this nightmare of a place called Belli castle.

In her hand she held a scruffy doll with strings attached. The strings were cut in several places. It was a marionette, broken beyond repair. Hewie had found it on top of the trash pile. They had gone outside for a moment; Hewie had opened the way into the dog training area by moving a box from the door. They had been playing there for a while and gotten to know one another. Hewie turned out to be a well-trained and obedient dog. Later, when passing the pile of rubble, Hewie had started to bark. He'd spurted to the top of the pile and had brought this puppet down to Fiona. And she had a good idea of where to use it. She remembered passing a red door with no knob or handle; however there had been a hook and the figure of a man on it. The wood piece to control the puppet's movements seemed to fit perfectly into the hook, or at least that was what Fiona was hoping for as she and Hewie was walking through the castle corridors on their way to that door.

Inside the big dining hall, Hewie was completely caught up in the very important task of sniffing every corner in the area. Fiona on the other hand, stood by the kitchen door eager to move on. "Hewie!" she called out. When hearing his name, the canine raised his ears, but continued sniffing. "Come on, boy." This time louder and with a firmer tone. The dog let out a bark and ran up to her. "Good boy."

She opened the door to the kitchen and they went inside. She recognised the maid from earlier; she appeared to be busy cooking dinner. She threw an empty glance towards Fiona and resumed stirring in the pot, totally ignoring Fiona and Hewie's presence in the room. "Perhaps not the best time to strike up a conversation," Fiona though. Hewie was growling as they walked past her, faintly, but she could hear the angry, rumbling sound deep down in his throat. "Easy boy," she said. She wondered what he'd been through that made him distrust all the castle's inhabitants, even the clearly non-threatening.

Threatening or not, Fiona was just as relived to be out of the kitchen as Hewie was. She went up to the door and hung the broken puppet on the hook. She'd been right, it was a perfect fit. The hook went down an inch and the door slid open. On the other side was a small and gloomy area, filled with puppets in all kinds of sizes and shapes, many of them were nailed to the walls with tiny iron sticks, there were even some hanging from the ceiling. Was someone just trying to scare her? In the middle of the room was a large, square-shaped column which nearly filled up half the area. To the left of it were thin planks of wood, like a fence. She could sense Hewie's apprehension. The dog's back and ears were raised in full alert. She too, sensed the evilness in here. The solely light source was a small lamp glowing in a threatening red. She stepped up to it. Hewie stood in front of a red carpet embroidered with a big eye that was located in the other part of the room. It was almost as he was sneering at it. The other side of the column was dotted with what looked like closed eyes. Something was wrong, very wrong, she could feel it. She picked up a doll on a dresser nearby and threw it over the carpet. The eyelids flew up and out of the pupils came tiny, but deadly sharp iron sticks which nailed the doll to the wall _-the evil eyes._ "T-that could have been me," she whispered to Hewie. "Thank you, Hewie for warning me."

There was a device with a glowing, blue light and a door on the other side of the room. Perhaps it was a circuit breaker? She searched the rest of the freakish place, the safe part that was. As far as any place could be considered safe in this godforsaken edifice of a castle. Maybe the fence acted like a gate that could be raised. In one of the corners was a small elevation of the floor. She stepped on it and indeed, the fence went up as the elevated part went down. She ordered Hewie to sit on it while she quickly moved under the gate and turned the lever of the breaker box, the lamp switched off and Hewie came running towards her over the carpet. He didn't seem to sense danger any more, other than being left behind, perhaps. Fiona crouched and stroked his fur as to assure him she would never abandon him. "Good, boy, Hewie" she encouraged. "Now let's move on," she said and opened the door.

She was relived to find herself in an illuminated room this time. She'd been concerned about walking around in the castle's corridors after sunset but the castle was actually very good lit, the main light source being small chandeliers hanging from the ceilings. Small lamps on tables and walls and lit candlesticks stood for the rest of the illumination. Another oddly placed chair caught her eye. "This place continues to weird me out, Hewie." Though he was only a dog, it was nice to have someone to talk to. "Besides, I don't think I'm imagining things when I say that there's definitely something amiss with this castle," she mumbled. She started to walk down a red carpet when the sound of a telephone started her. It was probably the last sound she'd expected to hear. At first she considered to let it ring, but changed her mind. That could be someone calling from the outside, she could get help. She couldn't let that chance go by her. She turned and warily stepped up the phone and lifted the receiver. It was an old phone, most likely from the fifties. At first she could only hear noise, but there was definitely someone at the other end, she could hear heavy breathing. She stared at the receiver in her hand, waiting…

"Fiona…"

The sound of a stranger saying her name made her gasp. The noise continued, she put the receiver up to her mouth and spoke as clearly s she could. "Who is this?"

More noise, then the man spoke again, "You must pay attention now Fiona." She paid attention indeed.

"Be wary of Riccardo… Your Azoth…" then the noise disappeared.

"Hello? Are you there?" she asked desperately, but the stranger had hung up. She didn't hear Hewie growling at the shadow by the entrance on the other side of the room, she was too puzzled over the phone call. As she put the receiver down she wondered what the strange man had been trying to say to her. Azoth..? She'd never heard that word before, but at least it seemed someone was trying to help her out of this nightmare…

Suddenly Debilitas came rushing towards her; he'd heard the telephone ringing too. However this time Fiona didn't freeze, she had Hewie there to protect her. "Go Hewie!" she ordered. The canine immediately started to bite the creature's arm, but the beast just shook him of. He stepped up to Hewie and kicked the dog in the side which caused the poor animal to howl in pain. "NOOO" Fiona screamed out and furiously kicked the ogre as hard as she could. It didn't even make him flinch, he turned around and fiercely grabbed Fiona's right arm. She tried to free herself, which only made the creature pull even harder. The intense pain nearly caused her to faint all over again, it felt like he was trying to tear her arm of. If she didn't do something soon, he would succeed. She cried out a help to Hewie and catched a glimpse of something white fleeing over her. The creature let out a roar of pain, and let go of Fiona. Hewie had attacked him from behind and was now biting on his back. Fiona was desperately trying to get away and knocked over a table and several ornaments in the process. She tripped in the table legs and felt an intense pain in her right shoulder as she fell on the floor. That monster had pulled her arm so hard that the shoulder joint had nearly dislocated out of its position and rendered her arm useless.

She could hear Hewie howling again, she had to do something or else he would kill then both. She picked up a glass orb and threw it at the monster back. It stopped him dead in his track as a purple electric current paralysed him completely. The effect only lasted for a second or two, but it gave Fiona just enough time to escape. She ran through doors and hallways, outside, to the left, to the right… she didn't' know where she was until she recognised as the music room. She could hear the beast roaring behind her. It was a dead end, she knew it. She hid the only place she could, behind the sturdy bookshelf in the middle of the room.

She was half laying-half sitting behind the shelf. She could feel the pulse in the hurt ankle and shoulder, but her veins were so filled with adrenaline, she hardly noticed the intense pain. She knew _he _was now inside the music room, and by the giggling in his voice Fiona could tell he'd found her and that he'd cornered her. Or so he believed Fiona, on the other hand, had a plan. She stood up, completely ignoring the violent protest from her ankle. She peaked to the left, and so did he. She went to the right, and so did Debilitas. He seemed to enjoy this cat and mouse game. Fiona backed away from the shelf and then leaped towards it with full force, intense pain shooting from the shoulder. The plan worked, the shelf fell on top of Debilitas and he was now stuck under the heavy furniture. But not for long… a book shelf would hardly stop the monster. "I'd better get moving before he gets angry, she though. "Or more importantly, before he gets back up!"

She limped as fast as she could back to the hallway and found Hewie by the ticking grandfather's clock. The throbbing in her ankle was worse than ever, her shoulder had been severely damaged and she'd scraped up her knee. "Come on Hewie," she said as she was limping down the corridor to the rest room. She noticed Hewie was limping a bit too. "Did he hurt you, boy?"

Inside the rest room Fiona found a small towel, dabbed some water on it and cleaned the wound on her knee the best she could. In a drawer next to the sink she found a compress and a band aid which she used to plaster up the bruise. No easy task with only one hand. Good thing she was left-handed. She searched through the other drawers hoping to find some aspirin or any type of painkillers that could relieve some of the ache. In the bottom drawer she found some small boxes with dubious-looking pills and powder. They were labelled Quies, Mundus, Recreatio, and Sedatio. She also found a bottle of liquid labelled Fortis. She'd never heard such names before. She turned the boxes and read the back. On Mundus and Sedatio it said; calms the nerves. Well, she certainly could've used some of that earlier. On Quies and Recreatio it said; highs stamina, and apparently Fortis strengthened the body. She didn't feel comfortable about the thought of swallowing random, dubious-looking pills, but figured she had more to loose by not doing so. The intense agony in her ankle and shoulder made it virtually impossible for her to move. A deadly condition when big, freaky monsters were lurking around. She picked two pills from the box labelled Sedatio - because of the name, and swallowed them with lots of water. She splashed some water on her face and dried herself with a towel. She took one zip of Fortis as well; she figured a fluid would be picked up in the bloodstream faster than the pills. She tried to give one to Hewie, but he refused to take it. "Come on, boy," She said. "Let's go to the kitchen and ask the maid if she has a treat for you." Hewie lowered his ears when hearing the word "maid", but followed Fiona anyhow as she was limping towards the kitchen.

Back in the kitchen again, Fiona couldn't see the maid anywhere. Oh well, she could help herself. She opened the fridge and fond some beef jerky which Hewie gladly divulged. What had the maid been cooking anyway, angel-hair pasta in tomato sauce? She bent over the pot to have a look and got sick to her stomach. That "angel-hair pasta" looked very much like human hair. She felt nausea building up, turned away and immediately ordered Hewie to follow her out of the kitchen. No supper for her tonight!

They walked, or limped, back to where they'd been interrupted by the telephone. She tried to phone for help, but the line must have been cut, there was no dial tone. She wasn't surprised, she'd gotten used to disappointments and dead ends like this by now. But how had the stranger known she'd been right next to the telephone when he'd called?! On the floor, next to the table she'd run over laid several glass spheres filled with purple or yellow powder which must have been what she'd thrown at the creature which had given him the electric shock. She ought to take these with her; to bad she didn't have any pockets. Hopefully, there'd be others around to use if necessary.

Fiona and Hewie crossed the floor and went into the next room in which there was nothing but a wide, ascending staircase. Hewie was busy sniffing the corners as usual -well, there wasn't really any corners here, the room had circular walls and a high and globular ceiling; a dome. She picked up the map from her boot to find her bearings. Walking randomly around wouldn't lead her anywhere. According to the sketches, they were at the main entrance. Fiona unlocked and opened a long and narrow door to her left. She'd been right; she could make out the castle's main gate from the door's entrance. She also spotted some of the purple-glowing bugs and quickly closed the door again. She'd learned her lesson. One of the rooms in the basement on the other side of the castle was painted red. There had to be a reason for that! And _that_ would be her next goal - to find a way to get in to that room. There seemed to be a way over to the other side of the castle just up the stairs. She called out for Hewie and went up to the second floor. The canine let out a bark to let her know he'd heard her and came running up the steps to catch up. Fiona's hurt ankle suddenly started to feel a bit better. It could even hold her weight as she was ascending the staircase. Hewie too, seemed to be feeling much better. Could the mixture really have started to kick in already? She went through a door and they were now outside the castle again. Fiona read the map while walking down the narrow pathway. Hewie followed in her heels. They were now heading to the other side of the castle, an entirely unexplored area. She could feel exhilaration, hope and trepidation at once. They walked into a narrow passageway. She could see a door in the distance at the other end of the corridor. As she was walking towards it, the throbbing in her ankle and shoulder died more and more out, when she'd reached the door, she felt nothing at all. Amazing!

The walls and ceiling in the tunnel were greyish, but the area surrounding the door was crimson red. A doll was hanging over the entrance which gave access into a small, poorly lit area, with walls as red inside as the ones on the outside. The room was filled with dolls, in fact, one wall was completely covered with them; it was not a pleasant sight. There were other small toys as well in there, a rocking horse and a crib for a small child; obviously she was in the nursery. In the middle of the room was an old rocking chair with a large doll sitting on it. The chair was moving, back and forth, which caused an eerie sound that made Fiona feel very uneasy. Had someone been in there recently, playing..? The sheets in the crib had been discoloured from lack of use. Apparently the maid hadn't tended to this room in a long time. Just as good, Fiona couldn't imagine a worse place than this to grow up. There was also a small dresser and a closet, which would sever as a perfect hiding place, a covert-up mirror behind the crib and a doll inside a large cage..? Why would anyone..? "Maybe someone is just trying to keep one of their valuables under lock and key," she though. Then again… maybe not. Here, even the nursery was freaky.

She opened the door out of the nursery and was now in a wide open and well lit space again. There were no chandeliers in this room but windows in the ceiling provided sufficient lightning, even now after dark as it was full moon tonight. The colours were neutral again. While Hewie was busy searching the area with his nose, Fiona stepped up to a large diorama entitled "Agnus Dei". It was portraying several armoured warriors and a horse. It looked mostly like something from a battle scene, a strange piece of art indeed. Among the walls to the right were decorations of spears and suits of armours forged from steel; an obvious conversation piece. "I guess this room serves as a museum of some sort," Fiona thought. She touched the large spears with her fingertips; it was so hard to believe that people actually used to swing those things around. "I could try using one to protect myself… "Damn! No good, it's just too heavy." She crossed to the other side of the room where Hewie was barking at a dubious-looking hole in the wall. She could hear creaks and crackling. She decided to leave it behind; everything screamed "Don't go in."

They continued on, Hewie tracing Fiona's heels, and descended down a staircase down to a gloomy hall. The only thing down there was a flower set table and three chairs on display, a locked door and a guest room. It had all the furniture and ornaments as the suite; a sitting area, a TV and lots of paintings on the walls, but still it was not as nice a room. The fireplace was cold, the whole room felt cold. She could hear the ticking from the grandfather's clock next to the bed. It was etching on moments in time. It showed half past nine. On the other side of the bed was a vanity table. She felt like freshen up a bit, but there was a crack in the mirror and she couldn't see a thing. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen a single mirror in the entire castle, not even in the rest room. She spotted more powder-filled glass spheres lying amongst the different ornaments on the shelves next to a suitcase. One landscape painting was painted entirely in the colour red. It seemed quite out of place when compared to the other items in the castle. She couldn't help but notice that the colour beard a remarkable resemblance to blood, but surely it was just red paint…surely… Right..? However there was no time for standing around, she had to move on before that _thing _found her again. She backtracked up to the second floor and went through a door close to the staircase and out on a balcony. She could see endless forest over the castle's walls. To the right of the door was a strange-looking statue of a figure with the body of a beast and the head of a bird. Fiona knew some ancient castles used to line their walls with something called "Gargoyles" as it was believed to ward of bad magic. Perhaps that statue was being used in a similar fashion? She stepped back for a close look, she did hate this place, she really did, however she could not help being fascinated by the castle's many paintings and sculptures. She heard Hewie's warning to late. She felt the ground moving as the outer part of the balcony collapsed under her feet.

Shaken, but Ok Fiona staggered to her feet. The Fortis was still doing its magic, apparently. Hewie's barking grew more intense, but there was another horrifying sound that reached Fiona's ears. A sound she now knew all to well. Fiona screamed as the grotesque monster jumped down from the balcony right next to her. She ran back to the castle. To make things even worse, the bug-things were back to haunt her as well. She tried to open the first door she saw, but it was no door. It was a painting on the wall that was made to look just like a door, what kind of sick joke was that?! She tried the next one, which was the real thing. She opened it and ran into a table. She grabbed all the orbs she could hold on to and threw them all at once on the beast, they did nothing! Fiona realised she was throwing pool balls. She had to get inside; she had to get to Hewie, that was her only chance. She crashed into a door she hoped would lead her back into the building ,but it was locked. She tried to turn the key, but her fingers were trembling so. The panic was building up inside her, the vision narrowed more and more. She opened the door a minute to late, Debilitas struck her over her back and she fell screaming on to her stomach. The panic hit her with full strength. She had no idea where she was or where Hewie was. But she knew where the monstrous human was, right over her getting ready to strike again.

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**Now I'll take a wee brake writing. Cheers.**


	9. Chapter 8 Hope

CHAPTER EIGHT - HOPE

Screaming, barking, ice-cold fear and throbbing pulse in her ears; her mind got bombarded with information from her senses, information she was in no way capable of processing. She was lying on stone-covert floor, barely able to crawl. Seconds went by, minutes, eons. Nothing happened, the creature kept on shrieking, grunting and growling. Growling? Suddenly the muddle of sounds made sense in her head. _Hewie! _Hewie had attacked the beast. Hewie was once again there to protect her. She lurched to her feet and stumbled to the open door in front of her - the castle guestroom. Hewie couldn't fight against the monster alone; she had to do something to help him. She felt the panic vanish more and more, and though still petrified, she now had control over her body again. Inside the guestroom she found what she was looking for on a shelf, the purple and yellow orbs. She grasped a handful and sprinted out the door the fastest she could, just in time to stop Debilitas from giving Hewie a solid kick to the side. Fiona threw one of the orbs at the creature, painful violet lightning blasted around the beast. She threw another one, this time yellow lightning surrounded him. The yellow blast lasted longer and appeared to be more painful than the purple one. She kept throwing until the ogre finally retreated and Fiona and Hewie were alone again, shocked but unharmed.

Fiona kneeled, rubbed Hewie's fur, and whispered comforting words in his ears not only to soothe the canine, but herself as well. After a few moments she rose, ready to move on. And immediately backed three feet away. The glowing bugs had taken their way in to the building and flew almost right in her face. She was not imagining it; those flying insects were really stalking her. Stalking bugs? "Guess I'll have to chalk that up to another strange occurrence here…" she thought. Like she needed another reason to hate insects. So did Hewie it seemed, he lowered his ears and sneered at the shiny, flying dots. Fiona backed away some more, and starred dumb folded at the flying lilac orbits as they died out and fell to the stone-covert floor. She leaned over and examined the dead, unknown insects. With the exception of the big purple back part, they looked mostly like big flies. Positive observation, they appeared to have a very short life span. With that in mind, Fiona called out for Hewie to follow and they moved on.

She was not surprised to find a pool table in the middle of the room that Debilitas had chased her into earlier. It seemed normal enough, unlike the rest of the items filling up the place. She stood on a rug made up of tiger fur. The head was still attached. Was it real? "You poor thing," she thought. "Being stepped and walked on all day…" The walls were filled with realistic, stuffed animals and dead birds were dangling from the ceiling. One of the hinges that supported an eagle was loose and made an uncanny sound. Or was it a falcon? She couldn't tell for sure. It bugged her. She made up her mind to learn the difference between eagles and falcons. As soon as she was safe home again. Right next to her, shoved into one of the corners was an anatomically correct model of the human body. It looked so real, as if composed of actual body parts. She didn't want to contemplate on the possibility that it could, in fact, be real body parts. Neither did she want to study the display of insects or envision the kind of person that would decorate a leisure room with these things. She moved outside to where she'd landed and found the map on the ground next to the ruins of the balcony floor and the pillar meant to support it. She couldn't believe that the whole balcony had just collapsed under her feet. "The castle must be older that I'd initially thought," she mumbled. "I'd better watch my step from here on out." She kneeled to the ground with the map in front of her. Hewie came up to where she sat and laid down beside the map, panting. So far, the searching of the castle had proved fruitless. Nevertheless, she ought to examine every room for clues. And hiding spots…

The room on the map coloured red was nearby. There was a square-shaped block to her left, separated from the rest of the castle. From what she could make out, the strange room was in that building's cellar. She stood up, determined to find an entrance. But first, she had to check out the wall in front of her. Or more precise, the four doors on the wall. The two in the middle were not doors at all, but walls made to look like doors. Fiona wasn't even surprised, a little baffled maybe. She'd gotten used to encounter oddities like that. Besides the door to the right, which led into the eerie leisure room, only the door to the farthest left was the real thing. She might as well have a peek inside. It led her into a tiny area with a chair and a flower vase in the left corner. The vase was filled with fresh, lilac flowers emitting a sweet aroma. Fiona quickly stepped back at the appalling sight of moths swarming the flowers. "Yuck!" she exclaimed. She hated moths with a passion. Not only did they seem to exist solely to ruin clothes, but they had the disgusting habit of dropping dead wings all over the place. A revolting sound could be heard when Fiona stepped on them. Disgusting!

She made her way up a short staircase, stepped on the wooden floor and looked at the objects hanging on the stone walls. Though being very small and poorly lit, Fiona figured the room served as the castle's gallery. Except for a sofa, table, rug and two small wooden furniture pieces, the entire area was filled with paintings. Fiona scrutinized the ones hanging on the innermost wall, puzzled. She could hear Hewie yawn, but she was too perplexed to give him any attention. All and every one of them had long cut marks in the canvas; many of them had been ripped out of their frame and discarded as yesterday's paper. Who'd do such a thing? Though she was no critic, the paintings didn't seem that bad to her. She made one more observation; the destroyed paintings were all portraits of humans. The landscape paintings over the couch, on the other hand, had all been spared. A door in the wall with the ill-treated paintings led into a mundane laundry room, the interior presented nothing of interest and it was a dead end. But a laundry room next to a gallery? "This place gets weirder and weirder by the minute," she said to Hewie. "Come on boy, let's go." Eager to be on the move again, the canine jumped to all four and skipped out the door together with Fiona.

Fiona raised her neck and examined the block outside. She could see no doors or windows, but there seemed to be a small bridge going from the main castle's roof to the square-shaped building in question. She walked along the edifice's walls, rounded a corner and found a locked door. The only thing resembling a window was a round hole up to the left. She rubbed her chin with her fingers, there didn't seem to be an obvious way in. Nevertheless, she was determined to find one. She had an idea. Ordering Hewie to sit and stay she ran back to the ruins, went inside the castle, crossed the eerie leisure room, up the stairs to the museum and out the door to the collapsed balcony. There was still a part of the floor that appeared to be sturdy. Carefully choosing her footing, she traced the castle wall to the other side of the balcony. After passing the "Gargoyle" she found what she'd been looking for. She climbed the metal ladder up to the roof over the museum. Through the glass panels she had a perfect view of the middle centred diorama. She crossed the bridge, opened an ordinary wooden door and went inside.

The mysterious building's third floor was nothing more than one long, wooden-made balcony flanking all four walls. Nothing but thin air was in the centre. There was a door with an odd symbol on the other side and two descending staircases. She went over for a closer look. The symbol could best be described as an "h" inside smoke coming out of an oil lamp. "_This _door is different from all the others," she noted. "There is some sort of design etched into it. This _has _to mean something…" She tried the door, but it was securely locked, she had to find a key. She went down one of the stairs to the second floor. It had a normal, stone covert floor with a round pattern of circles and a yellow snake biting its tail in the middle. The entire room was filled with boxes; most of them lined the walls, but some were haphazardly placed around the floor. On top of the boxes were symbol-crafted flat stones tilting downwards. They appeared in three different colours; red, grey and green. Along the wall in front of her were only boxes with red stones on top. There was an empty place just big enough for two boxes and there just happened to be two red coloured boxes next to her. Hm, curious. She started to rub her chin again. Same went for two other walls, an empty space and one box standing solely outside the row. "I wonder what happens if I push them all into their respective places," she mumbled into her hand. So she did; it took a few minutes, she could hear Hewie growing more and more impatient. When she was finished, the snake started to move the outermost circles and a hidden metal staircase was revealed. Fiona immediately rushed down to the ground floor and locked up the door to let Hewie in. He got a lot of praises and cuddles for being so patient and obedient. The dog exuberantly wagged his tail and ran in circles; he was so happy to see Fiona again.

There was no door to the underground floor, but a part of the innermost wall had a different design from the rest. It had to be the "door" down to the lower levels! She searched every part of the outline, but found no mechanism or means to open it. Hewie was alternately sniffing two strange devices placed on each side of the stairs. Maybe she had to use them in order to get access down to the basement. They were huge, higher than Fiona, and the upper part could be turned. In the middle was a round and shiny mirror. She pivoted the device so that the mirror faced the half moon in the centre of that strange pattern. The other one had no mirror inserted and could not be turned. But she'd gotten far; with aid from Hewie she had opened up many locked doors, deactivated a deadly booby trap and had gained access to almost the entire castle. She would not give up that easily, she was going find that missing mirror.

Only one more unexplored area left, the path straight ahead. She listened for footsteps, but the only sound she could hear was that of crickets. Or was it locusts? Never mind. Was the creature nearby, was he also listening for footsteps? A number of stones appeared to be inserted in the grass in a half circle around the door outside the building. They reminded Fiona of gravestones, though she couldn't see anything engraved on them. She crossed a small bridge and went into a passageway; the walls were filled with rectangular openings. She could feel a draft emerging from them. Hewie was still sitting at the door, eye-tracing Fiona. She called out and reluctantly the Alsatian rose to all four and followed the young girl, staying roughly ten yards behind. He wanted to trust his new owner, he sensed he could trust her, but she was still a stranger and she had just left him alone for almost ten minutes. Fiona noticed Hewie's reluctance, the trust and loyalty from man's best friend had to be earned and that was not done in a minute. She wished they could take the time to cuddle and play, but staying in one place to long would be dangerous. Someone could…

"Fi-o-na" _What was that? _She stopped, hesitated. Was she imagining things or was there a voice coming from the holes? In the middle of the tunnel was a short path to the right, a dead end. She went over to the rectangular openings and listened…

"Fi-oh-naaa" There it was again! Bending down and peering into the biggest hole, she could ever so slightly make out the shape of something moving in the gusts of wind; a piece of paper with something scrawled on it. Without really thinking, she put her hand into the hole and grabbed it. Like taken out of a horror flick, someone closed their hand around Fiona's wrist and refused to let go of her. Fear shot through her veins; she let out a scream and instinctively hauled back. Someone had lured her over to the wall and was now intensely dragging on her arm. The panic was building up in her chest again, an all too familiar sensation. She fought back, furiously jerking and dragging her arm out of the hole. The someone suddenly let go of her and she stumbled on to her back. A skinny arm with blue fingernails protruded from the hole, a thick gold bracelet hung on its wrist. Judging from the dry and discoloured skin, the arm belonged to an old man. "_Fiona_" the voice said once more before the arm disappeared into the darkness. In her hand Fiona held the scrawled memo.

Hewie had heard her scream and was now by Fiona's side again. She froze, had _he_ heard her screaming too. She listened, but heard nothing. Nonetheless, she ought to get moving. She unfolded the piece of paper. The writing also suggested an elderly person. She stood up and read while walking down the passageway.

"_Damn that Riccardo! He has sealed of the main gate." _She had already figured out that much. _"But all hope is not lost; there is another, lesser known way out of Belli castle." _Now _that_ caught her interest. She read on; apparently an old mansion lay beyond the castle's walls, the way to freedom went through that mansion. Directions followed; just as she'd thought she had to use something called _the lunar panels _on the first floor of the tower on the other side of the bridge to shine light on the wall in the back room. That would open the way down to the chapel where she had to find _the goddess key_, go up the secret staircase and unlock the door on the third floor that led into the mansion. She also had to"_beam the light out of the second floor of the music tower," _whatever that meant. The letter ended with"_Fiona, please understand that my only desire is to free you from this wretched tomb of a castle."_ Signed Lorenzo.

Fiona felt a surge of hope; someone was trying to help her, someone who knew the castle inside out was trying to guide her to freedom and safety. She thought about the voice on the telephone, the voice of an old man. Had that been the mysterious Lorenzo too, calling to warn her about Riccardo?

On the other side of the tunnel Fiona noticed a blocked gateway and a window with purple curtains inside. Something was vaguely familiar about it. A quick look at the map confirmed her suspicion; she was outside the music room. Maybe she could take her way up to the second floor from here. She could smell sweet nectar; beautiful, lilac flowers were blooming on the other side of a small fence to her left. Why was Hewie barking at the flowers? She walked up to the fence for a closer look. Something small and shiny was lying on the ground almost hidden by grass and leaves. It couldn't be the mirror she was looking for, it was way too small for that, but judging by how things were gong, she was probably going to need whatever was reflecting the light. The only problem was that there was no way she could climb over the high fence; the metal bars were higher than her. Luckily, she spotted a tiny round hole, just big enough for Hewie…

"Go Hewie" she ordered. The canine let out a bark, crouched down to all four, crawled through the hole into the flowerbed, and picked up the shiny object with his jaw. "Good boy. _Good boy. _Now come on."

What Hewie had found was a small key labelled "study key." Study? Why did that sound familiar? Study key, study room..? Yes, of course! The study room, she'd completely forgotten about it! Because of… no, she didn't want to think about it. From what she could tell from the map, the study room was next to the music tower. That would be her next stop.

* * *

**I hope this chapter wasn't too boring, the next one will be more interesting. Promise! And sorry about the short note at the end of last chapter, I was in a bit of a hurry. Not good, I discovered some errors. However I just can't be bothered to delete the chapter, correct them and re-upload.**


	10. Chapter 9 Danger is Lurking

CHAPTER NINE - DANGER LURKS AROUND EVERY CORNER IN BELLI CASTLE

Filled with hope and optimism Fiona called out for Hewie to follow and they went around the corner. There was another window that belonged to the music room, a bench and a ladder that would take her up to the second floor. She'd have to do without Hewie again. She kneeled down and stroke his fur. "You be a good boy and wait here, Hewie," she said in an assuring tone. "I'll be back as soon as I can." Hewie let out an approving bark and lay down on the ground. With no time to waste, Fiona tucked the map and memo into her boot and climbed the ladders; first a short one leading up to a small porch, then a longer one. She had to remind herself not to look down. However, she had a great view of the area. She noticed three colourful windows at the lowest level in the tower. They reminded her of church window, that couldn't be the chapel, could it. And that building she could see in the distance had to be the mansion!

The first thing she noticed when she'd finally made her way up was a strange device similar to the two in the tower. Was that a lunar panel as well? There was a conveniently placed rectangular hole in the wall next to the contraption. She remembered the instructions on how to open the way down to the chapel,"beam the light out of the second floor…" She turned the lunar panel so the mirror was aimed straight towards the tower. The refractor in the middle reflected the moonlight beautifully and sent a strong beam of light into the round hole in one of the tower's walls. Perfect! Now all she had to do was find the other refractor and take her way back to the tower before the monster found her, then she and Hewie would be out in no time. Unfortunately for Fiona, it would turn out to be a lot more complicated.

The music tower's second floor didn't take up much space. A piano stood in the middle of the small area. Fiona thought that tinkering out a few chords might soothe her nerves a bit. However it was hardly the time or place to practice piano skills. Not to mention the significance of being as quiet as possible. Loads of speakers lined the walls in a haphazard fashion. Fiona felt a piercing stare coming from then that was quite unsettling. The view she had over the first floor didn't help either. The creepy statue was still sitting on the couch. She unlocked the door, opened it and turned away in disgust. Nausea was building up and pressed on her larynx. She nearly threw up at the sight of the blood stained pillar. She forced her mind to push the image out of her head. On the upside, the study was right down the hall. As she was about to enter, she was once again distracted by a strange sound; this time a slapping sound. It did definitely not belong to the beast. She followed the sound to the forgotten room. Someone was inside. Fiona arched her back and peered into the key hole. The scene she was about to whiteness would make her go ice cold with fear and make her just as terrified as any deformed monster could.

A woman Fiona recognised as the maid was sitting on a chair in the middle of the room. She could hear Riccardo speak with an angry voice, though he was no where to be seen. "Where is he!?" he demanded to know. He slowly stepped into Fiona's line of vision. "Where is the old man?" he asked as he was walking towards the maid. "Where is he _hiding_?" The maid didn't respond, she didn't even look at him. Riccardo raised his left hand and gave her a smack on the cheek. Then another one. And again and again and again… He kept hitting her till she started to bleed from her mouth, still she said nothing. When he was finished, Daniella lifted her head to look at him; her expression showed no fear, no shock, no shame, no pain… nothing. She seemed totally indifferent. Riccardo turned his head, but Fiona could only see his mouth and chin. The rest of his face was still covered by the hood of his sweater. "I won't let him touch her!" he angrily exclaimed. The voice, the lips, there was something familiar about him, where had she heard that voice before, _where?? _"Do you hear me old man?" The question appeared to be rhetorical. "The azoth is _mine_." Azoth… was he talking about _her_!? She dropped the key to the floor; it made a low clinging sound. The maid turned her head and stared straight at the door, it was as if she knew Fiona was eavesdropping. A smile emerged from her lips. "I-I have to get out of here!" Fiona picked up the key and ran back to the study room as fast as she could. Riccardo… It was like he was insane or something. Who knew what he'd do next!

The walls in the study room were lined with shelves filled up by old, scholarly masterpieces written in various languages, many of which were ancient. A massive book stood stalwart, open on a small sable. It appeared to be quite old, an antique, perhaps? The script looked almost Latin in nature. Unfortunately, it was all Greek to Fiona. Besides English, her mother tongue, she spoke Italian like her parents and some French. Her mother, on the other hand, mastered seven languages; English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian and Latin.

There were two desks in the study, one in a corner and another squeezed into a small space in between three bookshelves. The drawers in the desk placed in the corner were all unlocked. Various, advanced formulae and computations had been scribbled on the desktop. It went well beyond something you'd learn at the college level. The blackboard next to the desk was filled with notes; it was almost as if someone had been doing some kind of research in the room. Pinned to the blackboard were several drawings of purple glowing orbs, just like the stalking bugs. She read the writing on the board and got one of her many questions answered. _"Luminessants - tiny creatures that respond to the ethereal energies given off by Azoth." _They could be used to track down nearby Azoth, a direct contact with a subject carrying Azoth would result in an electric shock. The word Azoth again… what is Azoth? She had no idea what so ever. Furthermore, the little buggers died only minutes after exposure to open air. The other desk had one locked drawer. Fiona unlocked it and pulled the handle. Inside was a cone shaped, well-polished convex mirror. The object had to be the missing lunar refractor! She took it out and headed for the door. A sound. From the hallway. She stopped, listened, backed away from the open door. Was there someone outside? Holding firmly on to the refractor, she tip-toed behind the door and crouched. She didn't notice the luminessant above her head.

- - -

The maid's indifference greatly annoyed Riccardo. He wanted her to feel intense pain when he slapped her; he wanted her to fear him, to obey _him_ and not the old man. Daniella's inability to feel pain had been Riccardo's idea, an idea he now greatly regretted. How could he present himself as an authoritative and threatening figure when she was not able to feel the agony of his strokes or the fear of being hit? How could he get her to respect him? He turned to face her; why the bloody hell was she sitting there with a grin on her face? "You clean up in here first thing in the morning!" he barked at her and slammed the door shut, boiling inside. "Yes master Riccardo" he heard through the door. Fortunately, he now had Fiona to clean the castle. The maid would soon prove superfluous. He'd been right about the girl, by the plate-pressing machine he'd found the old parchment about the golem and a plate with"FIONA" written on it. She'd also managed to open the door to the puppet room and turn off the evil eyes. She had turned out to be one clever little girl, but unfortunately for her, not smarter than him. He heard footsteps inside the study and let out some more luminessants. The little brat would soon learn who the boss around here is. He didn't want to alert her about his presence so he went through the refinery, down the ladder and headed towards the mansion.

As he was walking through the castle's many hallways, Riccardo thought about all that had to be dealt with in the future. Several problems required his attention; a balcony on the other side of the castle was in a very bad shape, the generators that supplied electricity needed maintenance and the Variatio Machina in the secret alchemy room had to be calibrated, it was highly unreliable. Not to forget he had to visit the mansion regularly to check in on the failures. They were predictable most of the time and exhibited only regular patterns in their behaviour, but they were also known to do unexpected, random actions if they were left alone for longer periods of time. Like yesterday when he'd been away to get Fiona, one of the homunculi had released most of the fetuses from the incubators. Riccardo, Daniella and Debilitas had spent the entire day hunting down screaming baby homunculi in the Belli mansion. At least the retard had enjoyed it. And the failure responsible for the mayhem had been greatly punished; it was now sitting on a chair in the red mansion's hallway, crying its eyes out. There was probably still some which they had not captured, he'd deal with that later. Now he had to focus on the secret formula. It was not yet ready; he would have to spend a good two-three hours working on it. When he'd be finished, he wouldn't need the luminessants to keep an eye on Fiona.

- - -

A shock jolted through Fiona's body when the luminessant hit her forehead. She screamed, jerked herself up and instinctively headed out the door where she ran straight into Debilitas. The sight of the horrendous monster at her face was more than Fiona could take, she completely lost it. Before she knew it, she was blindly running and screaming down the corridor in full panic. Her vision narrowed, she had no idea where she was heading. Her heart was violently throbbing against her sternum, pulse racing in her ears, she was shrieking and wheezing, stumbling and jolting herself up again and ran straight into a wall at full speed. Reacting instinctively, her legs turned a few degrees and tried to escape. She felt her body hit the wall again, tried again, failed again. On the fifth, or was it the sixth try she hit her head hard against a door and fell to the floor. Again she was desperately crawling over the stone bricks, completely defenceless and terrified. She screamed out the highest she could, hoping Hewie would hear her desperate cries for help and come to her aid. The creature was close by, she forced herself to her feet and staggered out a door, down stairs, into dining room, kitchen, hallway, closed door, gasped for air. What now? _Hide! _She had to hide somewhere. She ran as fast as her legs would allow her, down to the bathroom and hid behind the shower curtain. She crouched down in the bathtub and waited.

The creature spurted in to the restroom only seconds later, more energized and furious than ever. His frustration grew more intense by the minute when he did not find her. "Ah, where is you?" she could hear him grunt now and then. She made herself as small as she could, her whole body shivering intensely. She covered her ears and didn't even dare to breath. Her lungs aced and her throat was sore. One hundred years later she dared to remove her hands and look up. When she heard no sound, she stood up and after a few more minutes she dared to pull the curtain aside and step out. She went over to the drawer and violently pulled out the bottom drawer and picked up the boxes. She found the one labelled Sedatio and opened it. The box was filled with green powder. She dabbed her finger into the substance and licked it. The powder tasted salt. She had some more, she could feel her heart rate go down to normal. She drank some water and slowly inched herself back to the hallway, carefully listening for any sound then might come form the creature. She did not know that soon she would be facing someone far more malevolent, threatening and cruel.

She walked back to the hallway upstairs, picked up the lunar refractor she'd lost when she had run into the wall and headed down the corridor. Sick sacking the luminessants still alive, she went into the music tower, closed the door and went down the ladders were Hewie was waiting. She spent a minute sweet talking and patting the canine before they started walking towards the room with the lunar panels.

- - -

The maid was standing behind the fenced gate outside the music room, staring at the girl and her four-legged companion as they were walking down the path on the other side. Her eyes were transfixed at the beautiful young woman with the dancing ponytail. The miniskirt was floating teasingly around her hips. "She is filthy," the maid thought. A filthy princess that men are lusting after. A filthy princess with a very precious gift. A gift she would take to have for herself.

The maid turned and went towards the kitchen with slow, robotic steps. Her name was Daniella, or so had they told her. Names meant nothing to her. They had also told her she was the perfect woman, however they were wrong. She was incomplete; she could not even stand the sight of her face in a mirror. And tonight she would do something she'd never done before, she would disobey her master. She wanted that Azoth, she deserved it. Her master had promised to give her Azoth if she proved herself useful by working hard and obey his every command. And so she had, for many years she'd been cleaning and cooking the castle. But now as there was a carrier of the purest Azoth inside the castle's walls, Daniella saw no point in waiting any longer.

Back in the kitchen she collected bowls, utensil and glasses. One glass crushed in her hand, big chunks of broken glass penetrated her flesh. She'd pressed to hard again. Blood was dripping on the floor. Automatically, she did what she'd been ordered to do whenever she cut herself. She flushed the wound clean under the sink and stopped the bleeding with a towel. It didn't take long for the blood to coagulate, her tissue healed fast because of her high metabolism. The bruise Riccardo had given her was merely a shadow now, a discoloration on her skin. It would be completely gone within minutes. Despite that, her hands were always filled with bloody cuts and bruises.

She opened up a bottle of expensive red wine she'd picked from the wine cellar earlier and poured the content of the bottle in two glasses. She picked up a small box filled with black pills from an inside pocket on her apron. The box was labelled Nigred - an alchemic concoction that would completely drain the energy from whoever would be stupid enough to swallow it. She put one pill in each glass of wine and stirred with a spoon until the tablet completely dissolved. The wine's aroma and colour completely disguised the concoction colour and taste. Hopefully; she could neither smell nor taste so there was no way for her to be sure. She set the table in the dining room and went to find the girl. Dinner was ready to be served.

* * *

**Now what..? Seems like more trouble is waiting for our young heroine. I think Daniella didn't know Fioan was a carrier of Azoth until she heard Riccardo say so in the forgotten room. Before that, she'd been totally uninterested in Fiona. One more thing; why didn't the baby homonuculi cling to the stalker's legs? Because they are drawn to the carriers of the purest Azoth of course!**


	11. Chapter 10 The Stand Against Debi

CHAPTER TEN - STAND AGAINST DEBILITAS

Moonlight reflected by the lunar panel in the music tower hit the newly inserted lunar refractor, and a beam of bright light hit Fiona straight in the eyes and forced her to look away. Still she managed to turn the device so that the mirror faced the other lunar panel in the room. The beam hit the half moon engraved into the wall, the outline split in three parts and revealed an entry down to the alleged chapel. The first thing Fiona saw -and heard was another grandfather's clock. Hm, peculiar. The walls were filled with randomly placed holes, similar to the ones in the passageway earlier. "I'm never sticking my hand in one of these again," she said to Hewie. Then they descended a spiral staircase.

Downstairs were a door and a warning sign, it read: _the path beyond is the road to darkness. Go not without a guide, lest ye loose yourself to the darkness within. _"This has to mean something, but what?" Fiona thought, puzzled. Only one way to find out, open the door and see what was on the other side. It was a road to darkness indeed. Only a small part of the chessboard floor was illuminated, the rest was covered in dark. Judging by the warning on the sigh outside, the gloominess was intentional. Hewie was showing all the signs of sensing danger, barking, low ears and a rigid back. Fiona had a strong feeling that walking straight into the darkness would be a bad idea. Still, there had to be a path going to the door on the other side. She ordered Hewie to search for a safe route. Hewie traced the floor with his nozzle and warily, Fiona stepped into the shadow.

They walked in an "S" shaped path over to the safety on the other side; first, they were hugging the wall to the left, then it was all the way over to the right side of the gloomy room. A massive, double-hinged door led Fiona and Hewie in to a vastly illuminated hall. Fiona spotted some luminessants shining bright in the darkness and closed the door. She looked up; Three magnificent chandeliers, one vastly huge and two somewhat smaller, and three colour-stained glass windows provided more than enough light. Hewie was sniffing a rope pulley system that was used to rise and lower the biggest chandelier. Two identical pieces were attached to the walls on each side of the room. The ropes had been tightly fastened -"to be sure the chandelier doesn't accidentally fall," Fiona figured. Her gaze moved once again up to the enormous chandelier; "If it did, someone could be seriously hurt."

She passed the benches and went up to the altar; plants, candles and different pagan symbols were centred around a huge goddess statue of Ares, holding a cane with both hands. Letters were engraved on a stone-plate in front of the figure: _To the seeker of the sacred technique of Ars, obey the will of Hermes' divine cane and haste to the secret staircase. _A cane? "Hm, curious," Fiona rubbed her chin. "I'll bet this is related to that goddess statue," she mumbled. Something was hanging from the cane. She stepped on to the stone plate for a closer look.

It was a key! Fiona grabbed it and jumped down. A symbol was carved into its "head", an "h" symbol just like the one engraved on that door she'd seen earlier. The key felt heavy in her hands; it had been forged from lead, a rather uncommon use of the metal. She suddenly remembered; the symbol meant Saturn. She turned her head and looked once more at the divine figure. "If this is the chapel... Then this statue must symbolize the deity worshipped here," she concluded. Apparently the inhabitants still worshipped medieval gods and goddesses. They could worship whatever deity they pleased, finally she had the key to get out of this castle, -literally. She called for Hewie to follow and walked down the hall. And froze at the sight of the wide-open door. Hadn't she closed it just moments ago..? Hewie started barking at a figure emerging from behind the door. Debilitas had followed her down to the chapel and now he had her cornered; he locked the door and furiously started growling and waving his arms violently in the air.

"No," Fiona said. "Oh, no-oo." The beast came lunging towards her; he'd waited long enough, he wanted to play _now. _Fiona dived past him, spurted over the floor and yanked the doorknob. But it was no use; she was trapped. Now what? Hewie was biting the creature's leg, but the beast would soon shake him off and possibly hurt the poor dog in the process. Fiona had to think fast. Once Debilitas had shook himself free, Fiona charged at the giant beast. By using all of her strength, she managed to give him a good push. It made him roar in shock; he slapped Fiona so hard she fell to the floor. For him, it was all just a fun game; he was giggling and jumping up and down, hitting his head and shouting her name. Fiona raised, backed against the wall and tried to dodge the next stroke. She succeeded, Debilitas missed and hit the pulley system instead. Pieces of wood were flying over Fiona's head. Hewie was feverishly biting and scratching on the opposite one, what was he trying to do? "Hewie, help," she shrieked out. The canine leaped on the beast's back just in time to save Fiona from a deadly stroke. The creature screamed in pain as Hewie was chewing on his neck. After freeing himself once more, Fiona watched in horror as the creature turned all his attention towards Hewie. The dog backed away, moving closer and closer to the wall. When he was under the rope, he stopped. Debilitas raised his arm, ready to get rid of this annoyance once and for all. "Hewie! No," Fiona screamed. She closed her eyes, she didn't want to whiteness Hewie's death. She heard the sound of wood smashing to pieces, Hewie barking and running, the beast growling. Having jumped away at the last moment, Hewie was now luring Debilitas to the middle of the chapel. Two seconds later, a crashing sound echoed through the room. Debilitas was pinned to the floor by the enormous chandelier.

If Fiona had been hit by the chandelier she would most likely have died. Brawny and muscular Debilitas on the other hand, survived the massive damage to his back. There was no doubt however that he'd gotten severely hurt. Before passing out under the crushing weight, his marble round eyes stared awestruck at the goddess for a moment, then at Fiona. Hewie was still growling at the enormous giant under the massive chandelier. He knew that the creature wasn't dead. "It's Ok Hewie," Fiona said in a calm and comforting voice. "He can't come after us any more. Good boy." Still tense, Hewie backed away and walked up to Fiona. She bent down and stroked his fur. She was certain no one could have survived such a colossal impact. "Calm down Hewie, it's over." Attention directed away from the crushed chandelier, she didn't notice Debilitas opening his eyes. "It's Ok, Hewie," she repeated. "It's OK…"

It was the grunting from the beast and the crushing sound of broken glass that caught Fiona's attention. Debilitas slowly rose from under the chandelier, undoubtedly in great pain. He showed no sign of aggressiveness or excitement. On the contrary, he radiated defeat, humility and the uttermost respect. Still on his knees, he bowed to Fiona, his head touching the floor. Then he rose, unlocked the door and vanished into the darkness.

Fiona found the Saturnus key under smashed glass and twisted metal and put it inside one of her socks. "What a fancy chandelier, she though. "It must have been quite expensive." It was a miracle the creature had survived, had it been her… "I-I could have been killed," she thought in horror. "I guess fate was smiling on me today… For now." An image of the giant creature and his big, round eyes filled Fiona's mind. He'd looked like a child of sorts. "The size of a giant and the mind of a child," she thought with sadness. He should be pitied, not hated. Fiona wished she'd acted differently, then maybe all this could have been avoided. She'd never meant for anyone to get hurt and now the poor creature was suffering… She hurried out the door, called for Hewie, sick sacked the room of darkness, and went up the spiral stair. Before she could move on, she had to makes sure he was OK.

The creature was heavily limping so Fiona and Hewie soon caught up with him. Keeping some distance, they followed the giant through the passageway to a small, scruffy looking shed outside the music room. A fire was crisply burning in a barrel outside the shabby structure. Inside were a few shelves, a filthy bed and a small, red-lit room filled with broken toys and ripped apart dolls. The bed was in a terrible condition No way would Fiona even have considered lying down on it. Debilitas was facing some kind of altar with different sorts of religious symbols. He was shaking. Hewie seemed relaxed; it was as if he sensed that the creature was no longer a threat. When he noticed Fiona, he turned and fell humble to his knees. Still unsure, Fiona backed away from the creature who was folding his hands and grunting desperately for mercy and forgiveness. He picked up something from the altar and offered it to Fiona as an attempt at redemption. Hesitantly she picked it up, hurried out the door and went back to the secret staircase on other side of the castle. Inside the dirty box was a pair of earrings and a tiny paper that said the name of the earrings; Inquisitor Earrings, and that they would calm the nerves of whoever was wearing them. Fiona put them on. Surprisingly, she felt her heart rate slow down and her pulse soon returned to normal.

Back in the tower again, they went up to the third floor to the door with the Saturnus symbol. Fiona picked up the key hidden in her boot. She could hear Hewie growling; a deep, guttural sound coming from his throat. "Easy, boy" she said. She did not notice the shadow behind her. The symbols matched, it had to be the right key. The key out of here… Slowly she moved it towards the door. When she was about to insert the key, a bloody hand full of open wounds reached out from behind her and grabbed her hand. She gasped, her muscles tensed and she dropped the key. Slowly she turned. The maid was standing behind her, her expression cold and emotionless. She spoke in a low, monotonous tone.

"Dinner is served, miss."

_Dinner!?_ When Fiona didn't answer, the maid moved her head until she was only and inch from Fiona's nose. "Dinner is served, Miss," she repeated and showed the first sign of emotions. A smile was emerging on her lips.

As soon as the maid turned, Fiona picked up the key from the floor and tucked it inside her sock again. To scared to object, she slowly followed Daniella down the stairs. She called for Hewie to come. The dog reluctantly moved to Fiona's side. The maid walked with slow, rigid steps and held a firm pose. They moved through the passageway and up to the locked gate, Fiona and Hewie always staying ten feet behind the uncanny maid. The woman pulled a lever and the gate rose, revealing a short cut to the dining room. They followed Daniella past the music room, round a corner, inside the castle again, through the kitchen and into the dining room where she stopped next to a chair on the opposite side of the table. The maid stared at the dog, then at the open door, then at Fiona and then finally back to the door again. Fiona got the hint, "You have to wait outside, Hewie." The canine lowered his head and made a whining sound. "It's OK, Hewie. I'll be only a moment. Good boy." The Alsatian slowly walked out to the hall on the other side of the door and turned to look at her. Fiona gave an encouraging nod. The maid pointed a hand to the seat, encouraging Fiona to sit, closed the door and walked out to the kitchen.

Utensils and two chalices filled with red wine were placed on the table in front of her. She could hear sounds of porcelain hitting metal emerging from the kitchen. Moments later the maid appeared with a bowl of soup, placed it in front of Fiona and then she went back to the kitchen again. Fiona thought about the soup that the maid had been stirring in earlier. Luckily, there were no tendrils in this hot and creamy white soup. She picked up a spoon and stirred in the fluid, unidentified lumps of meat emerged to the surface. The sight made Fiona nauseous. No way was she eating that. The maid came out of the kitchen with another bowl of soup. Fiona studied the room; there was only one more chair next to the dining table. However, there were more than enough candlesticks to make up for the lost chairs. She thought about the chairs haphazardly placed out in the hallway, picked up a chalice and tasted the wine. It was a little bitter, but rich in aroma. Her father had taught her a lot about red wine. He'd wanted his daughter to have an uncomplicated relationship to alcoholic beverages and as an attempt to de-mystify alcoholic drinks, he'd been serving his daughter wine at dinner every day since she was fourteen. It had worked, though Fiona had been drinking wine almost every day for the last four to five years, she'd never been drunk. She looked up at the chandelier in the ceiling and thought about the episode in the chapel. A shiver wend down her spine, she and drank some more wine to soothe her nerves. The maid brought more bowls of soup. Fiona emptied the cup. She wanted to empty the second glass to, but decided against it; she didn't want to get tipsy. She had the feeling she would need a clear head later on. A total of ten bowls filled with creamy white soup were now standing in front of her. Fiona had hoped to be left alone but unfortunately, she had no such luck. The maid came up to Fiona's left side and started to speak. What she said made no sense to Fiona.

"My creator said he made me the perfect _woman_…" the maid started, tilting her head to look at Fiona. "But I cannot taste or experience pleasure. Or feel pain." Fiona put her spoon down, "Um, thanks for the meal…" she rose from the table and went out the door to Hewie. Suddenly she started to feel terrible. Moaning, she placed her hands on the stomach and leaned towards the door. Was it the wine? Had she been drinking too fast? But she wasn't nauseous, she wasn't in pain, it was like all the energy had been depleted from her body. "I should try and get some rest," she thought and started to stagger up the stairs. She could have sworn she'd heard "I'm not complete…" on the other side of the door.

Finally she'd made it up to the second floor and went into the castle suite. Hewie traced her steps a few feet behind. The dog sensed something was wrong with his new owner. Fresh sheets had been placed on the bed. Fiona laid down and immediately fell asleep.

* * *

**Daniella, yay! This is going to be fun. Next time I'm just gonna have a quick look outside the walls of Belli castle to visit the site of the "accident" before I'll return to our heroine and her new stalker. Will Fiona and Hewie make it to the mansion in one piece?**

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Thank you for the review, MemoryOfAlessa. Yh, Daniella is awesome.


	12. Chapter 11 A Difficult Investigation

CHAPTER ELEVEN - A DIFFICULT INVESTIGATION

It was a lovely autumn day in rural Digne-les-Bains, one of four arrondisements in the French region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, usually just referred to as Provence. The temperature was well over twenty degrees Celsius and there was no wind. Birds were singing in the cloud free sky and the air smelled of asphalt, forest and burned wood. Shattered glass laid spread over the gravel next to the road and reflected the sunlight. Detective-lieutenant Jean-Luc Clement Guillot however, paid no heed to the beautiful landscape around him. His full attention was directed towards the burned car at the side of the road and the three corpses inside. A couple driving through the region to visit their daughter in Castellane had spotted the vehicle and called the police. The unfortunate event had taken place in one of the most desolated areas in the province, almost an hour drive from his office in Digne. That's why the police force hadn't been notified before noon this day even though the incident had most likely occurred the day before.

The place was already flooding with crime scene investigators. "Excusez-moi, Messieurs." Guillot moved his way over to the side of the charred vehicle, bent down and peered inside. "Mon Dieu!" he exclaimed at the sight of the burned remains. The fire had cooked the soft tissue and turned it black and leathery overt the bones. He stroke his palm over his mouth and jaw; even after twenty years at the Digne-les-Bains police department, he'd never gotten used to the tragedy witnessed at crime scenes and sites of accidents. Lives cut short, young people dying long before their time, often just for being at the wrong place at the wrong time, family and friends receiving devastating news… police work could be hard, very hard. Fighting crime and keeping the streets safe made it all worth it, though. He loved his profession indeed.

The detective examined the three remains closely; there were two in the front seat and one in the back. The two skeletons in the front seats were severely damaged and the fresh black tire marks on the asphalt nearby meant someone had been burning rubber recently. It was suspected that the driver had lost control over the vehicle and crashed into something at the side of the road, perhaps because of fatigue or just a moment loss of concentration or under the influence. A tox screen would reveal if he or she had been under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Guillot shook his head; they had most likely been a family on holiday, such a tragic fate they had suffered. The coroner arrived and Guillot stepped away allowing the man to do his work undisturbed. He turned to the CSI in charge, head investigator Jacques Leroy. "Bonjour Monsieur, ce qui peut vous m'indiquer?" _Good day Sir, What can you tell me?_

"The incident occurred between eight pm and midnight last night. Our investigation is still only preliminary so at this point we can't rule out homicide but so far, we haven't been able to find any sign of criminal activity. This seems to have been nothing more than an accident," Leroy could inform him. Officer Pierre Simon approached the detective. "Any witnesses?" Guillot asked. "Unfortunately no, Monsieur" said the policeman. "Because this is such a low populated area; no one either saw or heard anything. The nearest house is over five kilometres away." Guillot jotted down the information in his notebook and was about to report in to headquarters when one of the technicians stopped him. She had made quite an interesting discovery.

"A licence plate?" Guillot arched a brow. "Why wasn't this found before now?" he asked in surprise. "Mes excuses, Monsieur," the technician apologised. "It must have fallen of the vehicle before the crash. I found it lying in the high grass over there." The woman pointed towards an area on the other side of the road about twenty metres away from where they stood. "It was covered in dirt. After I cleaned it, my colleague and I compared it to the vehicle's remaining plate. Though it was extremely burned, we still managed to decipher the numbers. We got a match. This licence plate belongs to the burned car."

"Good job, Mademoiselle." Guillot gave an approving nod. The technician smiled and she and Leroy went back to work. The detective held the evidence bag in his hand and read the information on the licence plate through the transparent plastic. That particular combination of numbers and letters told him that the car had been registered in Paris. He went over to his Toyota Prius plotted the numbers into the database. He'd been right; the car was registered to a rental company in Paris. He dialled the phone number immediately. He wanted a positive ID on those remains as soon as possible so that the next of kin could be informed. Over the years, he'd learned all to well the terrible and agonizing feeling when a loved one had gone missing. In this case, loved ones. A name meant that an odontologist could compare dental x-rays of the remains to that of the suspected victim.

The car had been rented to one Ugo Belli, an Italian with address in London, England. He'd arrived in Paris early yesterday morning with his wife and daughter. At the last minute, they had decided to drive from Paris to Nice, his wife had wanted to show their daughter the beautiful landscape in southeast France. Since they hadn't booked a car in advance, the company hadn't had much to offer the family. They had rented an old wreck for next to nothing. Wife and kid, were they English? Guillot asked the person at the other end. He thought they were, though he hadn't caught their names. Could he describe them? Hesitation, deep breath, then... Nice, friendly people. Appeared to be a loving family. Wife fluent in French, the husband and daughter seemed to speak the language as well. The daughter had been a real looker, blond with huge… Guillot interrupted him before he had the chance to complete the sentence. What else? He jotted down the employee's estimation of age and height and the description of the family's clothes, then he informed him the reason he'd called. "Hot damn!" the guy exclaimed. "I should never have rented them that car. The wreck hadn't even had any air bags. Now my boss is going to kill me." Annoyed, Guillot hung up. He didn't even thank the man for the cooperation. A family had most likely been killed in a terrible accident and all he cared about was his own goddamn ass. However, his aggravation soon disappeared, the coroner called him over. He had noticed something peculiar.

"You see that damage to the sternum and the ribs?" he asked, pointing at the chest of the skeleton in the driver seat. Guillot nodded. "I can't be sure until I've examined the area more closely under light and magnification in my lab, but I doubt this was caused by the impact." Guillot raised his head in surprise. "What do you suggest caused the damage?" he asked. The coroner frowned; it was too soon to suggest a possible scenario. Nevertheless, he decided offer one anyways. He'd know detective Guillot for a long time and knew the man never jumped to conclusions. "Like I said, I can't say for sure yet, but if you notice the shape of the damage to the sternum, it looks as if a long, thin object has penetrated the driver's chest." Guillot raised both his brows; that had certainly not been what he'd expected to hear. "Skeleton size and shape of the skulls suggests that the driver is male and the passengers are females, but that's only preliminary. I want the remains in my lab as soon as possible. In addition to determine age, sex, height and ancestry, I'll examine the driver's spinal chord for similar damage." The coroner took a pause to draw his breath and then he resumed talking. "Here's what's even more interesting; I've noticed some peculiar irregularities on the skeleton in the backseat." The coroner's voice grew more intense. "The bones have several deformities, determine age and race will be next to impossible. I have to consult with a colleague of mine who is an expert in osteology, a forensic anthropologist. I've never seen bones like this before. Not even on individuals with neurofibromatosis." Guillot gave him a puzzled look. "You may know it as elephant disease. However that is not a correct…" _Doctor, please! _Dr. Claude Monet Gautier, named after the famous painter, was known to be thorough and meticulous in his job and he often showed a huge passion for the anatomy of the human body, which was enough to put most people off. That was not the case for Guillot, he admired the man's vast knowledge and precise research. However, he had no time for a lesson on correct medical terminology now. "So it would have shown on her?" the detective interrupted. "Most certainly," the doctor confirmed. "And I'm fairly certain she couldn't even walk. At least not for longer periods of time. Strangely, I haven't found any abnormalities on the skeletons in the front seats." Guillot thanked the coroner and went to find Officer Simon. It was time to alert the English authorities.

Something was bothering Guillot, something the car rental employee had said over the phone. He flipped his notebook. _The daughter had been a real looker… _That certainly didn't' sound like the body that was being lifted out of the back seat right now. Then where was the daughter? Was she the female that had been riding shotgun? Or was she missing? Was the three individuals not the Belli family at all? An entire family missing? And the damage to the driver's torso, a_s if a long, thin object has penetrated the chest. _It was yet to be confirmed, but from experience Guillot knew that Dr. Gautier was seldom wrong. If he had even been the driver, at this point they couldn't rule out the possibility that the bodies had been planted there. This investigation had suddenly taken an unexpected turn. An Italian living in England had possibly been murdered in France; a young, British girl was maybe missing, a mysterious corpse showing defects and abnormalities. He had no idea what he was up against, but his gut feeling told him that he would need all the help he could get. He found Pierre Simon and called the officer's name. The policeman hurried over to the detective. "Oui, monsieur?"

Guillot gave him a serious look; "Get me the London police and Interpol on the line now!"

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**Now I know you all want to get to the Daniella part of the story, as do I. But early on I wanted to include the investigation because on my many Haunting Ground playthroughs I've always wondered what the police thougt when they found the car and the bodies of Fiona's parents. Someone must have been missing her, they must have been searching for her. Did they have any clues or suspects, or were they at a loss. Playing the game, you never find out. You don't even know if Fiona get's to safety. I'm gonna provide those missing answers in my story. But my main focus will be what happends in the game. And yeah, the story will have a different ending than the game.**

**I chose France because it made most sense. Steering wheel on the right side rules out Engand(though I'm convinced they were English), besides it would be too risky for Riccaddo to cross the English channel. Italy would be pushing it too far since the Belli castle is ilocated in northern Italy. The scenery Fiona is looking at in the flashback scenes fits the landscape between Paris and Provence, and it's close enought to the Italian border for Riccardo to drive from the castle, cause the accident, kidnap Fiona and get back in one night and unnoticed. Driving around with Fiona in the back seat at daytme would be to risky.**

**I have been doing some basic research and I do know a little bit of French, so as far as I know the french words, geography and the general facts are correct. However, I'm no expert in law enforcement agancies or police investigations in either England Or France. If there are any errors in the text I sincerely apologise.**


	13. Chapter 12 The Maid and a new Detective

CHAPTER TWELVE - THE INCOMPLETE MAID AND A NEW DETECTIVE

The girl was lying motionless on the bed. The maid stroke her chin, then she moved her hand over her chest and tummy. A woman… of flesh and blood… a princess… she was radiating the essence of life. She was complete. The maid was not, but soon she would be. She would take the Azoth _- the measureless spirit of life_ from the girl. Then she would be able to feel joy and pain, to taste and smell. And the man would lust after _her_ instead of the girl, she would lure him into _her_ body, she would give birth, she would be complete. She pressed her hand down on the girl's belly, on a spot just south of her navel. The girl raised her head and looked at her. The poison hadn't worked, the princess was still alive. Slowly the maid turned towards the window…

Fiona was dreaming that she was lying in her own bed. Her mother was sitting on the edge of the bed next to her, caressing her chin. Her soft touch felt so real. She lowered her hand and suddenly her mother morphed into an hideous looking witch who tried to press in her stomach. The pain stirred Fiona awake. The last part hadn't been a dream, someone had really been pressing hard on her abdomen. The maid stood over her and stared deep into her eyes. Her presence made Fiona feel uneasy; what was _she_ doing here? What had she been trying to do with her? Fiona sat up in the bed, her apprehension was growing, _something was very, very wrong. _The maid walked over to the panorama view, turned towards Fiona and said smilingly, "I'm not complete." She placed both hands on the window and started to bang her forehead on the glass. Fiona stumbled out of the bed and watched the maid in horror as she kept hitting the glass harder and harder with her head. Cracks started to appear, but the maid kept hammering the glass. She didn't stop until she'd smashed the window in pieces. She stretched out a hand and broke free a long and slender piece of glass, almost a meter in length, from the broken window. A highly dangerous, foolish and not to mention obviously painful act. But the maid was unaffected. She was not able to feel the sharp glass cutting into her flesh. She was smiling and kissing the glass shard before turning to Fiona and slowly inching towards the terrified girl. Blood was dripping from her hand. She raised the deadly weapon over Fiona's head.

Fiona couldn't believe what was happening. Again, danger was staring her in the eye. Hewie was growling, Fiona could tell he was ready to attack. But considering the sharp piece of glass the maid was holding _that _would be very dangerous for Hewie. It was better to make a run for it and try to get to the mansion. "Hewie," she called out and ran out the door and down the stairs. She'd gotten to know the castle well and knew exactly how to get back to the tower. Though it might have been faster to take the route through the puppet room and climb the ladder outside the museum, she chose the same way they had walked with the maid earlier. It was easier for Hewie and the fence outside the music room was open now. Why would the maid wish to harm her!? She'd said she was not complete. "Not enough...?" Fiona thought. "Something I've got… or rather…" The maid had been squeezing her stomach. "Something inside of me. She needs it? And so she needs me to get it? Out of my body?!" The woman was obviously crazy. And far more dangerous than the pitiful creature. Only wanting to play, he'd never meant any harm, he just hadn't been able to control his excitement. _She_ on the other hand, had intentionally tried to hurt Fiona. This just kept getting worse and worse.

Fiona and Hewie ascended the secret staircase to the tower's second floor. Hewie started immediately to growl. Daniella was there, rubbing one of the squares she'd been pushing around earlier. Fiona backed away, shocked. _How had she gotten here so fast? _WhenDaniella noticed the young girl, she turned and looked at her, her face cold and devoid of feelings. "Miss, it's cleaning time now," she said and resumed wiping the stones. "What!" Fiona thought. "You just attacked me. How can you be so nonchalant!" she wanted to scream. It couldn't have been someone else, could it? The glass shard was nowhere to be seen. She called for Hewie and together they walked up the stair and unlocked the Saturnus door.

They walked over a bridge and into a passageway leading over to the mansion. Behind them, the door slammed shut. The unexpected sound stunned Fiona and made her cover her ears in shock. The maid had entered and was now blocking the door. The sharp piece of glass was back in her hand. Fiona started to run towards a door at the far end of the passage. She could hear Hewie barking somewhere behind her. She desperately called for him. She didn't want him to attack the crazy maid; if he did, he could get severely hurt. She pulled the doorknob hard, the door flew up and she started to climb a long staircase. Steps were flying past her as she hurried to get upstairs. It was as if the stair would never end. There were too many steps and she was running to fast. She tripped and fell hard on her knee. Her kneecap throbbing like crazy, she flipped over to her back. The sound of footsteps told her the maid was near. Fiona tried to back away but she was like glued to the steps in horror and pain. The maid approached the defenceless girl and she was coming closer and closer.

Daniella had never been in that part of the mansion before. The Saturnus door had been locked for a long time and the inhabitants used a different route to get to the mansion. That's why there was an undamaged, uncovered mirror mounted on the wall in the staircase hallway. Daniella turned, got a glimpse of her mirror image, started to scream uncontrollably and covered her face. Hewie quickly moved past her; it was like she'd gone utterly mad. Fiona rose, thought it wise to keep her distance and though her knee still felt sore, she hurried for the exit. She couldn't understand why the maid hated her own reflection. Her skin, her eyes, her body… they all looked fine. "Oh well, blame society I guess," she shrugged. They were finally inside the mansion.

She closed the door behind her to block out the maid's hysterical screams and were now inside an area that looked most like a well of sorts or a drainage area. Water was floating under them. They descended a spiral staircase of stone and went up to a door. She placed her hand on the knob. A sound stopped her from turning it around. She turned and peered into the water. The surface started to move, had someone opened a sluice or something? She took two steps forward to see if the water was draining. There seemed to be a stair going further down under the water surface, but Fiona couldn't see the bottom. They were probably high up in the mansion. Suddenly more water started to flood in from a hole in the ceiling. Soon the whole area would be under water. Fiona and Hewie hurried out the door. Now there was no turning back. They were trapped in another strange place that wasn't on any map. Fiona had a bad feeling about the whole situation. At least the maid had been trapped on the other side. Right…?

- - -

The CSI technicians had not been able to find any kind of explosives on what remained of the vehicle. However, the entire car had been severely destroyed by fire, much more than what the gas left in the tank could have done alone. Contrary to popular believes, a car's gas tank rarely explodes after a collision or an impact. To even get the gasoline to ignite, you need a perfect mixture of evaporated gas and oxygen, which is very hard to obtain, and then you need a spark at the right time and in the right place. It's nearly impossible to get a car to explode Hollywood style. An additional flammable fluid had probably been used to burn the car. Guillot was flipping through the preliminary CSI report when Officer Simon knocked on his door. "Excusez-moi Monsieur, I didn't mean to interrupt You, but the guy from Interpol has arrived," he said. "Merveilleux! Send him in, s'il vous plait." In came a tall man around thirty, sand coloured hair and green eyes. He was almost a head higher than Guillot.

Interpol investigator John E. Harrison was an Englishman who, despite his young age, had a lot of experience in the law enforcement area. Trained in the US, he worked two years at Los Angeles Police Department before heading back to England where he'd worked three years at New Scotland Yard. Eighteen months ago, he applied for an internship at Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France to learn more about international cooperation amongst law enforcement agencies, fight world threatening criminals and to sharpen his French. The last part had gone really well, he was now as fluent as a non-native speaker could be. With priority crime areas such as international criminal organizations, drugs and human trafficking, terrorism and tracing fugitives, this case wasn't exactly Interpol material. But another one of Interpol's responsibilities is to facilitate cross-border police co-operation and since Harrison was a former New Scotland Yard employee with good contacts in the English law enforcement agencies and was between assignments right now it was decided that he would be assisting the French police in this case. It was convenient since Lyon is much closer to Digne than London is. Harrison arrived well within four hours.

The men shook hands and Harrison was happy that the French detective didn't try to kiss his cheeks. The famous French custom wasn't that common among men, but one could never know. Guillot updated the investigator; he showed him the CSI report, pictures from the possible crime scene, pointing out interesting observations he'd made and told him what the coroner had said. Information about the English-Italian family had arrived form London. A copy of each of their drivers licence and passports had arrived by fax together with some basic information like the family's address and the parent's profession. The London police was still busy interviewing friends, colleagues and neighbours of the family. Guillot opened the folder on his desktop and the two investigators leaned over the desk and read the content.

Ugo Belli, 43, nationality: Italian, DOB July 5. 1963, hair colour: bald, eye colour: blue, height: 5'9", occupation: handyman/freelancer/wine expert.

Ayla Belli, 39, born Donaldson, nationality: British, DOB January 19. 1966, hair colour: blonde, eye colour: blue: height: 5'5", occupation: translator/language teacher.

Fiona Belli, 18, nationality: British, DOB October 9. 1986, hair colour: blonde, eye colour: blue, height: 5'4", occupation: student at the University of Oxford.

Harrison picked up the photos of the family members and scrutinised their faces, one by one. The mother and daughter were very much alike, beautiful women both of them. "Is this the girl you suspect is missing?" he asked and held out the picture of Fiona. "Oui," the French detective confirmed. Harrison glanced at the girl in the photo again. "She'll be 19 in three weeks," he said. Guillot sighed and shook his head in a such-a-tragedy manner. The detective was undoubtedly very dedicated to his job. If he'd been a few inches shorter and had grown a moustache, he would have looked exactly like Hercule Poirot. Harrison had to force back a smile. He chose not to comment, as he was sure the Frenchman was fully aware of the similarity with the Belgian detective. "So," the Englishman said, focusing on the case again. "What now?" Guillot picked up his keys. "We go and speak with the coroner," he said. "He called me just before you arrived. He's ready to discuss his preliminary findings with us."

The coroner's office was a twenty minutes car ride from the police station. Harrison didn't like visiting autopsy rooms, but it was a necessary part of the job. He could smell different chemicals like disinfectants and organic solutions. However, there was no way to disguise the appalling stench of rotting flesh. The three corpses from the charred vehicle lay in the middle of the biggest autopsy room, each on its own gurney. Dr. Gautier had the same dark eyes that most Frenchmen possessed, but his hair and skin had a lighter tone than the average French did. The men exchanged bonsoirs and then the investigators listened as the coroner informed them of the age, sex, height and ancestry of the two skeletons in the front seats. It was a perfect match for Ugo and Ayla Belli. He also informed that due to the highly unusual skeleton in the back seat, his final report wouldn't be ready until the end of next week. He'd been consulting with his colleague in forensic anthropology all afternoon and still, the oddly shaped bones remained a mystery. "The only thing I can say for sure is that it is a female," Dr. Gautier said. "The pelvis is one of the bones with the least amount of deformity. Ancestry is impossible to assess and so is age. In some areas, the limbs appear to be fully adult, because the growth caps have completely fused, while in others they are not, as if she was still growing. The individual was suffering from kyphosis, tibia vara and pes planus, meaning she was hunch-backed, bow-legged and flat-footed. She also lacks two costae, three metacarpals and five phalanges. Three of her upper incisors and all of her lower molars are completely fused together to one big tooth and she only has one wisdom teeth. Neither me, nor my colleague have ever seen or heard of all these conditions at once before. Not to mention general deformities that is present on almost every bone." The doctor shook his head in disbelief. Both Harrison and Guillot were staring at the oddly shaped skull. Even to the untrained eye, the abnormally was obvious. They both thought the same. Guillot fished out the picture of Fiona from the case file and gave it to Gautier. "Can you for certain rule out that the remains on the table in front of us are the girl in this photo?" he said. The answer was obvious. "No, she's absolutely not. This young girl has very delicate features. It's certainly not the same individual." The other female skeleton was between 35 and 45; Fiona Belli was not one of the remains. The men felt both relieved and troubled.

The coroner resumed talking. "There's one more thing I can say about the disfigured skeleton. Since the pelvis was not as deformed as the rest of the bones I was able to conclude than she has probably given birth." The men looked puzzled. _Given birth? _"She has a deep trench on each side of the pubic bones, which indicates child birth. Due to the unusual nature of the skeleton, it could be another anomaly but I don't think so. The pelvis area is the only bone that appears to be somewhat normal." Dr Gautier scratched his head. Guillot had never seen the man so bewildered before. It worried him. "How is that even… possible?" Harrison intervened, not knowing quite how to ask the question. The doctor shrugged. "I have a hard time understanding how she could have gotten pregnant, how she could have carried the child and cared for it." _Not to mention who would have wanted to have children with her_, Harrison thought. "We have taken samples from the bone marrow for DNA analysis, but it will take weeks before the result arrives," Gautier said. "However I'm thinking that the abnormalities were caused by several genetic defects. I doubt her babies survived long if at all. She probably gave stillbirth." The doctor drew his breath and said quietly "look gentlemen, this is strictly off-record but this female… she's like an incomplete, faulty version of the human specie."

"What about the injury to the man's chest, have you been able to draw any conclusions from that?" Guillot asked. "Oh yes," the doctor eagerly moved over to the skeleton to the left. "The damage is not consistent with the kind you normally see on victims of car accidents. And like I suspected, the vertebrae was damaged in a similar way, which suggests a long and thin object going through the man's torso," he said while pointing out the injury to the investigators. "Could the damage have come from a three branch going through the front window and into the man's chest?" Harrison wondered. "Highly unlikely," Gautier responded. "If you notice the angle of the damage, starting high up in the torso around the heart, and ending much lower down here," he pointed at the vertebrae. "That branch must have fallen from the sky," he said. "It is consisted with someone standing over him and thrusting a sharp and thin object in to his chest," Gautier said. The men locked eyes. At the same moment both Guillot's and Gautier's mobile phones rang. The men went to each side of the room and spoke for about two minutes. Harrison could only hear muffled voices. "Merde!" Guillot slammed his mobile shut and returned with a serious look on his face. Dr Gautier told his assistant to lock the corpses inside the freezer. "I'm terribly sorry Monsieur 'arrison, this is most unfortunate but I have to go," he said in an apologetic voice. "There's been a huge fire in an industrial building across town, the officers already at the scene suspects arson and both I and Dr. Gautier are on duty tonight." He reached into his pocket and picked up his car keys. "Here, take my car, I'll ride with Monsieur Gautier," he said. "You are welcome to use my office for as long as you like, however I doubt there's much else we can do tonight. There is a nice hotel only two blocks from the station. I'll talk to you later tonight or tomorrow morning. Au revoir, Monsieur." With that, both men disappeared out the door.

The sun was low in the sky when Harrison returned to the police headquarters. It was quiet, it was late afternoon and most of the employees had gone home for the day. However, there was still some buzzing around in the corridors. Harrison sat down in Guillot's chair, rested his head a bit and started flipping through his notes. He had to sort the information somehow. Ugo Belli, probably the man that had been driving the car had probably been murdered. Fiona Belli was probably missing. Many probabilities here. No witnesses, no clues, no suspects, no motive, nothing. This wasn't going to be easy…

But like most great detectives, Harrison was gifted with a sixth sense, a gut feeling that usually led him in the right direction. Not to mention a sharp brain. He walked over to the coffee machine and ordered black coffee. No café au lait for him, he wanted the real stuff. Moreover, he suspected it would be a long night. He had no idea. He zipped the warm, black fluid from the styrofoam cup and let his mind work. A young, beautiful girl missing. A grotesque, deformed individual with lots of flaws in her anatomy had taken her place. A deformed female that had given birth against all odds. A picture perfect young woman was gone, replaced by this defected woman. A flawless woman that could produce flawless children instead of an incomplete creature that could only offer failures? Good Lord, was someone trying to create people? Images of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein flashed before his eyes. Then he remembered Dolly, the cloned sheep. Was someone out there trying to clone humans and were in need of pristine DNA? Or an incubator? Or both? It was a crazy theory, still Harrison couldn't shake the feeling that he was into something. He knew that with the right knowledge and technology, it could be done. He looked at the picture of young Fiona Belli again. Why her? The family wasn't even from this country; they were going to Nice for a family trip. Her father murdered, the car burned in an isolated area. The person responsible had killed her father execution style; he/she had gone to great lengths to cover their tracks, they had known exactly when and_ where _to strike. She hadn't been a random victim, this girl had been hand picked. He picked up the phone and dialled the number to a former colleague in New Scotland Yard, London.

"Hi Pete, it's me John… Yeah, I'm good… No the investigation isn't going well, that's the reason for my call. I need a full background check on the Belli family… Yes, all three of them... As fast as possible, please… You got the fax number. Great, thanks mate." He hung up and watched the sun moving closer and closer to the horizont. Now all he could do was wait.

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**I forgot to mention something at the end of the last chapter. The reason why I waited so long to include the investigation was that an ongoing investigation conveys hope, a notion that someone is looking for Fiona and Hewie. I wanted the reader to really feel Fiona's anxiety, desperation and loneliness without the thought in the back head that the police are on their way. But now I couldn't wait any longer. But Fiona and Hewie are not saved yet. They are still a long way from Belli castle. Next time our heroine and her faithful canine companion will be searching through the gloomy mansion.**

**Though Haunting Ground belongs to Capcom and not me, all the investigators belongs to me. They are a product of my own imagination and any similarities between actual persons, living or dead are purely coincidential.**

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**AerithGast88 **I'm so glad you liked the last chapter, I was really excited about that one. I sure hope you enjoyed this chappie too.


	14. Chapter 13 The Mansion's Gloomy Hallways

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - THE MANSION'S GLOOMY HALLWAYS

Her footsteps echoed through the dim hallway as Fiona walked down the dirty chessboard floor. Apparently the maid didn't attend to this part of the building. In fact, Fiona got the impression that no one had been in here for a long, long time. Unlike the castle, there were no chandeliers to illuminate the corridors. The only sources of light were a few small lamps with a single light bulb and lit candles, which made the mansion dark and gloomy. The hallways were sparsely furnished with only a few randomly placed small, circular tables and accompanying chairs, a stark contrast to the castle's numerous masterly crafted and sturdy furniture pieces, countless ornaments and spectacular art like the paintings and the sculptures. Fiona peered through a big window to her left, but saw nothing but blackness. How long had she been asleep? Hewie was barking at a round hole in the wall just like the one Fiona had seen in the museum. She could feel a stale and damp gale of wind blowing from the other side of the opening. "Why not?" she thought. With Hewie's help, she had managed to get through the entire castle to this manor unharmed. So far, they were doing well. Besides, she ought to check out every area anyways. However, Hewie had to wait outside. She promised the faithful canine she would only be gone for a short time, and then, she crawled into the darkness.

On the other side was a small area, no more than 8x16 ft. Like most of the rooms in the castle, crammed bookcases lined the walls from top to bottom. Birdcages were dangling from the ceiling and several strange looking machineries took up space on the other side of the room. She noticed a document written in Italian hanging on the wall to her right. The text appeared to be old, at least from the 17th century. Thanks to her parents, Fiona was bilingual and just happened to be fluent in Italian. The sheet held information about the contraptions in the room called Variation Machina and Perpetuum Machina. About Variation Machina it said, _By using a medallion one can actually transform items into new things which properties are roughly determined by the base items colour compatibility_." White (album) for humans, blue (viola) for animals, red (rubium) for antimony and magnesia and green (viride) for metallic objects like other medallions. _Whenever on hasn't the means to protect oneself, come here for sanctuary. _Signed Aureolus Belli. Fiona had never heard that name before. Had he once been the owner of these buildings? Was he her ancestor, or was it another Belli family altogether? A small table with scales and books lying on the desktop was placed in the middle of the room. The book seemed almost archaic in nature. She shifted through the pages and read about the different sorts of alchemic brewery that could be made by putting medallions inside the Variation Machina; health items for humans and animals like Quies, Mundus, Sedatio, Recreatio, Fortis, Remedium, Esca and Magna Esca. Precarious items such as Carbo, Nigred, Torva, Sylvestra Esca and Benneman Esca. She learned the name of the strange orbs that she'd hurled at the giant earlier; antimony powder (purple) and refined antimony (yellow). A third, even more powerful variant also existed, antimony tube; as well as another alchemic concoction called Magnesia, a diamond shaped crystal that would explode if stepped on. It came in three forms, Standard (green), Refined (red) and Prima (multi-coloured). She turned to face the peculiar contraption called Variatio Machina. Next to it was a wooden box filed with medallions. Fiona selected one, placed it inside the centre hole of the device and pressed start. A wheel started to spin and a button prompted Fiona to press stop. Every now and then, the dull, ash-grey would swiftly reveal its many hidden colours. After she'd pressed stop, another wheel started to spin, and then the next. One by one, a total of nine wheels spun around the middle-centred medallion before the process ended. In order to forge it into a new item, at least two similar colours had to be directly connected to one another, which was much harder than it sounded like. After three fruitless attempts, Fiona finally managed to get two white orbs in line and the machine started to glow. Her prize was a box filled with yellow-greenish pills. It said Quies x 2. Perfect! Her knee was still throbbing so she swallowed them all. Hewie was howling impatiently outside, she'd better hurry. Just one more try. She picked up a blue medallion from the box and placed it in the inside the device. This time she got lucky and managed to connect four blue and two white orbs. She was rewarded with a cylinder containing pills with the colour of a late-summer lawn. The ancient book identified the substance as Magna Esca, a brewery that would fully heal a wounded animal and make it "happy". With that, Fiona went back to the mansion's dark hallways where Hewie was waiting.

She gave Hewie two of the tablets. The rest she would save for later. The canine seemed to appreciate the treat and let out a satisfying bark. There was a door with pottery plants on each side at the end of the corridor and some furniture pieces in the hallway to her left. She decided to check out the left hall first, crossed another round table and chair and went up to an old and unsteady showcase. Inside it, several discoloured bones lay in a pile. "I can lie to myself all I want to," Fiona thought. "But there is no denying these are human bones." Insects filled up another glass case at the end of the corridor. Why had she even bothered to look? Above the case hung a painting of a mother lovingly holding a child. The artwork had been a stunning masterpiece until someone had spoiled it by red paint. Blood red dye dotted the female's body and it had been flowing down the canvas creating the impression of a bleeding woman. The female's face had been painted red altogether. Who would do such a thing? Fiona sought comfort in knowing that _that _person was probably not around here anymore. She called for Hewie and they went through a door to her left. On the other side was a dark area, which was only illuminated by a couple of small lamps on the floor. Fiona followed the narrow pathway, turned right and ended up at another door. On each side of the trail were huge gaps. An enormous mammoth head dominated the small space. Its trunk had been smashed into the path, and several blocks of stone were jumbled around the long nose of the prehistoric animal. Ears laid flat to his head, Hewie started whining. He was scared… no, he was terrified. Fiona wondered if he thought the mammoth was alive. She bent down and tried to comfort him the best she could. Through a glass wall next to the huge animal, a stuffed chimera was showing off its fierce gaze. _Why would anyone ever decorate a room with something so hideous? _

They hurried out the creepy hallway and Fiona was relieved to be outside and breathe fresh air again. Hewie too seemed to be feeling better. They were standing on a wooden walkway attached to the outer wall. It was hard to tell how far above the ground they were, but they were definitely not at ground level. Dark shadows the shape of treetops stood out against the night blue sky and there was something white in the distance. Was that… mountaintops? The Alps? Or perhaps it was the Pyrenees? "Where in God's name am I?" she asked herself. Suddenly she remembered that she and her parents had been driving through France. After going away to college, she hadn't seen her mum and dad for weeks and she had missed them so terribly. Her mum had suggested that they should take a few days off work and studies and do something nice together as a family. And what could be nicer than a weekend holiday trip to Nice, her mother had laughingly said. Besides, Fiona needed to freshen up her French. Her father had been reluctant, but they had managed to talk him into it. Fiona had been thrilled; college was OK and so were her classmates, but she had such a hard time trusting and bonding to people. She was such a shy and quiet girl, always had been and she'd often felt lonely at the Campus, sometimes even downright depressed. She had ever been interested in sports or partying and had spent most of her time studying in her room and in the library. It wasn't that she didn't have any friends, but she'd just missed her life in London so terribly. The safe and quiet neighbourhood, the animal shelter, the ballet and piano lessons and not to mention her parents and her aunts. _Her parents… _what he'd said, the man that called himself Riccardo, was it really… true? Her parents… dead? She could feel the tension building up in her chest, making it harder and harder to breath. Her lags gave in; she had to grasp hold on the railing. She was very close to having an anxiety attack. Hewie stopped and looked up at the grief-stricken girl as she was clinging to the banister. She focused on her breathing; deep inhalations, slow and controlled exhalations. She couldn't let herself break down, not here, not now. _That _would be dangerous. For them both. She had to hold the tears back, if she started to cry now she was afraid she wouldn't be able to stop. She had to be strong, her parents would have wanted her to fight back. For herself, her parents and for Hewie, she had to be strong. "I'm OK now Hewie," she assured him.

The walkway turned out to be a dead end. The door leading back into the manor was locked from the other side. There was nothing else to do than to return to the hallway. She looked up in the partly clouded sky wondering if they were looking for her. She must have been reported missing by now, right? Though no one expected them to return to London for a few more days, her aunts must have been suspicious when her mother hadn't called them. She wondered if anyone at college would notice that she was gone. She'd only had one close friend, a girl named Alyssa. She had met her in nursery school when they were three and four. Talkative and outgoing, Alyssa had been quite the opposite of Fiona. Still the two girls made best friends from day one and had spent almost every day of their childhood together. Alyssa too, had a strong bond to her family. She loved her mother and grandfather very much. She had never known her father, and for that, Fiona had always felt sorry for her. Then one day, she'd gone to meet Alyssa but her mother, the otherwise so sweet and hospitable Mrs. Hamilton, had abruptly dismissed Fiona saying that Alyssa had left for boarding school and wouldn't return for many years. "I'm sorry, sweetie" she had said, "but you must never come here anymore." It had broken Fiona's heart. Only 13 years old, she lost contact with the only real friend she'd ever had. It still puzzled and saddened her. From that day, she had kept mostly to herself. She hadn't let anyone into her heart again until a few hours ago when she'd met Hewie. Besides, her parents had always been a bit over protective, so Fiona had never been given much chance to have a social life. It had never bothered her though. She would rather spend her time with the people she loved and felt comfortable with anyway.

Back in the mammoth hallway Hewie's ears went flat once again, the dog was obviously petrified of the hideous looking creatures. As soon as they were back in the main hallway he appeared to be fine. Fiona hurried past the showcases, headed left and found herself surrounded by three doors. She ought to find a map as soon as possible so she would know where to go in this labyrinth of hallways. The door to her right had windows on each side and led her to a small veranda. They were definitely on the second floor. It was too dark to make out any details, but she was probably above a garden of sorts. She could see trees, a small building and haphazardly placed stones. Since there was no way she or Hewie would be able to get down from the balcony, she went inside and opened the door to her left. She was now in a small, globular room. The grandfather clock's hands showed well beyond midnight. She'd been sleeping for nearly two hours. In the ceiling hung a chandelier, the first one Fiona had seen since leaving the castle. Hand-written notes lay on top of a desk and ornaments decorated a bookcase. Spheres of Antimony lay amongst the ornaments. The manor appeared to be uninhabited, but one could never know. It was better to be safe than sorry, especially in this creepy place. She picked up a yellow one. A couple of plants were placed on the floor, and a figurine of a female clasping an unlit oil lamp was placed in the middle of the room. A peculiar pattern engraved into the floor encircled the small sculpture. A door next to the bookcase led to a wall of stone. What was up with this place? Holding on to the Magna Esca and the refined antimony, Fiona went out of the room and through the door with plants on both sides. She walked into a small, cold and dark area, which was completely empty except for a mirror covered with a curtain. The sound of splashing water emerged from the floor below. How odd. She moved through a door next to the covered mirror and entered a room that was completely opposite of the ones she'd so far seen. It was warm, moist and highly illuminated. Palm trees stretched towards the glass-made ceiling and below full-bodied flowers were stretching out in every direction in constantly watered flowerbeds. A luminessant made Fiona speed up her pace. They walked across a u-shaped bridge over the flowerbeds and exited on the other side of the same wall that they had entered. Fiona made sure to close the door between herself and the bothersome creature.

They entered a dirt-covered foyer, which bent slightly to the left. Behind her, another door appeared to lead nowhere. A dead plant stood next to a long, red and filthy couch. An identical, and equally filthy one lined the other wall. A doll the size of a human was placed in the sofa to the right. It had long, blond hair and dressed in a crimson dress covered in dust and cobwebs. A closer look made Fiona realize that it was not a doll at all. It was, without a doubt, a mummy. The realization gave Fiona quite a shock, would she ever get used to this place? Not that she wanted to. She could feel the mummy's eyes burning in her neck as she walked away. On the contrary, the desire of getting the hell out just grew stronger. In a small corridor to the left hung a dark painting entitled _Blue Flame, Secret Ways_. She walked up to a door at the end of the main hallway, turned the knob and found herself staring into another wall of stone. This place was seriously getting on her nerves. She felt the mummy watching her as she and Hewie searched for an exit. There had to be a secret passageway or something around here somewhere. She tried to knock on the walls and to turn the painting and the tiny masks decorating the walls. Nothing happened. After ten minutes, she started to loose hope. What now? Was she now trapped here, like the mummy had been many years ago? Would she suffer the same faith? No way. They had come too far to loose out to this hellish nightmare now. Fiona examined the painting more closely. Meticulously, she studied every detail. A young female in a blue hooded jacket was raising an oil lamp. A hand sticking out from the darkness was ready to grasp the young woman's arm. The only bright spot in the mysterious painting was a blue flame burning brightly from inside the oil lamp. "Blue Flame, Secret Ways," a rather strange title for a picture. Unless it was some sort of a hidden message. Staring at the painting, Fiona tried to take in its essence. _What was it trying to say to her, what message was it conveying? _It was almost as if the girl was guiding her deeper and deeper into the painting. Could there be a secret passage behind that wall? She studied the oil lamp. Hadn't she seen one like it just moments ago? Focus, Fiona, _think! _Of course! The statuette in the room where she'd picked up the antimony, it had been holding an unlit oil-lamp. "Come on, boy," she said to Hewie. "We have to go back and look for matches." She hurried past the mummy and into the greenhouse, remembered the luminessant and spurted over the bridge. She'd hoped that glowing, purple thing had died by now. However, this was… bluer. It reminded her of… the painting. Could it really be… that simple? She slowed down and let the bug follow her. She entered the circular room and kneeled down behind the small sculpture. A second later the glowing bug crossed the entry. Heading to where Fiona was sitting, it smashed into the oil-lamp and ignited the wick. The floor started to shake and a deep, scraping sound of stone moving against stone could be heard from deep inside the building. A mesmerizing blue flame was now dancing from the oil lamp's wick, just like in the painting. Fiona and Hewie hurried back to the hallway where the mummy was resting to see if anything had happened.

She was not let down. The wall with the painting on it had been moved several feet back and torches lit up a secret staircase to the lower level. Fiona and Hewie descended to a tiny area, passed a small sculpture and table and headed right. The floor here had the same chessboard pattern of black and white squares and the same small lamps were hanging from the ceiling. Nonetheless, there was something different about this floor. Maybe it was the red-tinted arched windows to her left. They gave the place an eerie atmosphere, even more so than the gloominess upstairs. Black steel crisscrossed the crimson glass in a mosaic pattern. It was like the flaming red colour was burning into the room. Or maybe it was the movement she saw behind the barrier she was walking next to. A fence going from floor to ceiling split the room in two and Fiona could swear she saw something green moving on the other side of the lattice. Hewie lowered his head and ears in apprehension and Fiona could hear the deep, guttural sound of hostility emerging from his throat. Fiona focused her eyesight on the object. A hand was moving in steady, monotonous circular patterns... Belonging to a woman dressed in green who was wiping a table. She suddenly realized who it was, _the maid_. She was behind the fenced area, absorbed in her house-cleaning chores. She didn't seem to notice Fiona's presence, or maybe she was just ignoring her. Fiona's pulse rose at the sight of the mad woman and once again, the ice-cold grip of angst manifested itself inside her chest. "Maybe she is locked inside the fence, unable to get out," Fiona thought not really believing it. She hurried past the enclosure and through an arched doorway. She didn't even notice the door behind her.

She was now in a T-shaped hallway illuminated only by three red lamps in the middle of the floor. On each side of the paths were pitch-black gaps of darkness. Fiona walked straight ahead through an ached opening with no door and entered a small room that looked completely normal when compared to the other rooms in the mansion. It was clean, illuminated and there was no chessboard pattern on the floor. The two windows were normal, square and with colourless glass. To her right stood a grandfather's clock and a banister forged from wrought iron. She stepped down a few steps to a small sitting area and a sofa. On the table, Fiona found what she'd been looking for, a hand drawn sketch of the Belli mansion. She picked it up, started to orient herself, and quickly found the T-shaped hallway she'd just crossed. The building was made up of many, long and narrow hallways and there seemed to be no easy way to move from one part of the mansion to the other. She was in the building's east wing and according to the map, the entrance was in the west wing. On the other side of the door to her left, a path led to the other side of the manor. She turned the knob. Locked. Typical. In this labyrinth of a mansion, "no easy way to move from one area to the other" was an understatement. Thanks to the map, she found an alternative route. She went back to the red, T-shaped hallway, took opened the other door and crossed a tiny, half-spherical area that was designed as a children's carousel. The interior was made up of three white horses attached to a pole going from top to bottom. An elk's head stared at her from the concave wall. She could even hear carousel music. It was slightly disturbing. At least she got over to the desired hallway.

Again, the floor was chessboard black and white. She passed a poster filled with jumbles of letters called "Glowing Sun, Radiant Star, Luminescent Moonlight." It was fastened to the wall over a smear of dried blood. Before moving down the shady hallway, she unlocked the door into the sitting area, just in case. She passed a descending staircase to the left, rounded a corner, passed a closed door and headed right. She wanted to leave, not explore. This part of the walkway was darker, dirtier and creepier. A covered mirror and three dolls the sizes of little girls were placed against the walls. She removed the curtain covering the mirror. If the maid started chasing her again, the mirror would distract her. Fiona felt like the dolls were tracing her steps as she walked down the corridor. It was really creping her out. Hewie too, he was growling at them. She tried not to look at them as she crossed the disturbing passage. She was starting to regret she had left he castle. But Lorenzo would never have sent her to this place if there wasn't a way out, right? He obviously knew this place well, so she had to trust him. She walked through a door at the end of the passageway and found the path obstructed by water. Even if she did try to swim across, she wouldn't be able to pull herself up on the other side. The edge was too high. She could see a door in the distance. Was that her way out of this hellish maze of a mansion? She had to go back and examine the areas she'd just crossed more closely. She sighted, turned around 180 degrees and retraced her steps in the gloomy hallway trying to ignore the creepy dollies the best she could. She had the uncanny feeling that the search for the manor's entrance was going to be a living hell.

Her first stop was a door to her right. It led outside to a locked up area. Hewie was running around, sniffing and searching every corner. To her left, a pillar of a seething flame was spewing forth from the stone-covert floor. Fiona stepped up to it. Above it was a balcony, but she would be burned alive if she tried to reach for it now. Until she found a way to put out the fire, the only sane thing to do was to stay away. To her right, a locked door led into the greenhouse she'd passed over earlier. The universal symbol of femininity was carved into the door. In this case, it probably referred to Venus. There was nothing more out there besides a small statue clenching an oil lamp. Fiona turned to go inside and froze at the sight of the 3-headed monster guarding the entrance. It appeared to be some kind of dragon and even though it was made of stone, its flaming red eyes and wide-open mouth made Fiona feel very nervous. She noticed a small paper inside one of the dragon's mouths and quickly picked it out, remembering all to well what had happened the last time she'd put her hand inside a hole like this. She unfolded the paper; the handwriting was the same as on the previous letter. She read the scribbled notes. It was another helpful note from her friend Lorenzo. _Dearest Fiona. I write this in hopes that you've made it this far. Speak the proper words to the 3-headed dragon personifying fire. Doing so will calm the blazing flames which incinerate all and show you the way. The words themselves are the name of spiritual essence. It is what we call SALT, SULFUR AND MERCURY. Be careful, my dear Fiona. Lorenzo._

_Something above that would show her the way… _she had to put the flame out somehow and get up there. _Speak the proper words to the 3-headed dragon… _now how was she going to do that? She peered into the open mouths; there seemed to be a slot of some kind inside. However, there were no more clues outside. She called out for Hewie to follow and they went inside the mansion, passed the shady hallway, the sitting area, the red T-shaped passage and back to where the maid was cleaning. She'd taken a quick look down a dark path descending to her right in the hallway, but had only found two locked doors engraved with the symbol of Jupiter. She noticed a door on the other side of the room and she hurried past the enclosed area. Fiona opened the door and closed it her. They were inside a restroom that had been unused for years. Another set of jumbled letters filled up a part of one wall. To her left was a toilet, a sink, some shelves filled with toilet requisites and to her right, a plate-pressing machine. She put the Magna Esca and refined Antimony down, tucked the map inside her boot and made three thin plates. Each plate had a word from Lorenzo's letter stamped on it. With the 3 plates in her hand, she examined the bathroom. She was a bit thirsty and wondered if the water was safe to drink. She turned the tap and fresh, clear water oozed from the faucet. She tried a zip. It tasted fine. She drank until she'd quenched her thirst. Hewie was sniffing one of the two bathtubs. The other one was filled with stagnating, reddish water. "It's probably rust discoloration," Fiona thought. "Unless that red colour is coming from something else." Was she just being paranoid, or was her uneasiness justifiable? She wasn't sure; over the last couple of hours, she had really started to doubt her own judgement. She had to get out of here before she went mad. If it hadn't been for Hewie _that _would probably already have happened. Her eyes caught a window covered with blinds. "I wonder what is going on outside this steel cage I seemed to have landed myself in?" she wondered. She decided to open the blinds to have a peak outside. She shouldn't have.

At first, she saw only darkness, then an enormous creature passed by the window. Fiona jumped at the sudden movement. Puzzled, she wondered what she'd seen floating by on the other side. It sounded crazy, but she could have sworn she'd just seen a fish from a different time period swimming by, looking exactly like a fish she'd seen in a natural history museum that she had visited when she had been a kid. Who could've possibly fathom that this room was under water? Hewie was growling. She stirred into the darkness, but she couldn't see anything else moving. It wasn't until she stepped two steps back that she noticed the reflection in the glass. It took her two seconds to realize that the maid was standing behind her. When she turned she noticed Hewie's body language. He was ready to fight. So was Daniella. She hissed, raised the sharp glass she was holding and pointed it at Fiona. The petrified girl clenched tightly around the plates keys. She was cornered, the maid was blocking the door and the Antimony was lying next to the plate-pressing machine on the other side of the room.

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 **Finally an update, yay! Did you guys notice the recerence to CT3? To me all the games (or at least HG, CT, RE and DMC) belong to the same universe of awesome Capcom games.**

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**AerithGast88 **- Yeah, the detective is pretty darn smart, but he still has to work on the Who and the Where, and he has to convince other people that his insane theories are actually true. That is not going to be easy.


	15. Chapter 14 Riddles, Puzzles and Keys

CHAPTER FOURTEEN - RIDDLES, PUZZLES AND A QUEST FOR KEYS

Fiona had no other choice but to order Hewie to attack. There was no way she could possibly escape the restroom otherwise. Besides, she could give him Magna Esca if he got hurt. The canine immediately started to bite Daniella's ankle. While praying for Hewie's -and her own safety, she dived past the maid while she was busy pulling herself free from Hewie's jaws. She was heading directly to the exit and ran straight into hard wood. Darn that door-closing maid! She jerked up the door at the same moment the maid had pulled herself free. She swung the deadly piece of glass in Hewie's direction. Fiona closed her eyes as she heard the poor pooch whine in agony. Still, the brave dog attacked the crazy woman again to protect his new owner. Fiona could hear the maid was yet again trying to pull free. She opened her eyes and grabbed the antimony. The insane maid yanked her hand free from Hewie's grip, leaned her head back and let out a sinister chuckle. This was her chance; she threw the Antimony at Daniella. The alchemic concoction enclosed the maid inside yellow bursts of light. Fiona grabbed the Magna Esca, shouted out to Hewie to follow her and they both ran out. She hid below one of the sofas in the sitting area. Hewie was limping around in the aisle outside, constantly yapping and whining of pain and fear. She watched the maid as she walked around the area, searching for her, wanting to hurt her. Now and then, she would stop to call out Fiona's name and to let out one of her hysterical laughs. She was walking very awkwardly, like a robot. After a few minutes with no sign of the maid, Fiona figured she had a coast clear and crawled out from her hiding spot, wiped the dust of her skirt, unscrewed the lid of the Magna Esca and emptied the content into her hand. She found Hewie in the hallway outside, his snow-white fur soaked with blood. "I'm so sorry, Hewie," she stuttered, filled with guilt. She held out her hand and Hewie licked up every single one of the green tablets. His soft and wet tongue stroked Fiona's palm until every trace of the brewery was gone, and then he let out a satisfied bark. He held no grudge against Fiona what so ever. There had been no other way, he understood. Together, they went back to the dragon.

The SALT and SULFUR key plates closed the two mouths that were well within Fiona's reach, but the third head had to be at least eight feet up in the air. No way would Fiona be able to reach it. She searched the sculpture for the best way to climb up when suddenly Hewie started to bark vigorously. She turned to shush him; the crazy maid might hear it, but then she noticed his intense stare and eager panting. Hewie? The clever dog approached Fiona, sniffed the plate in her hand, and barked again, energetically wagging his tail. She bent down, allowed him to take the plate in his mouth and watched in amazement as he lunged forward, leaped up on the first head, jumped once more and threw the plate into the remaining gap. Now all three of the dragon's mouths were tightly shut. Fiona was expecting the blazing fire to go out, but that was not what happened. The dragon's six pair of eyes changed colour from burning red to clear blue and the burning fire magically transformed into a crystalline ice pillar. Fiona touched the cold and shiny surface. The flame had been frozen in place. "This could be my way up," she realized. She promised Hewie that she would be gone for only a short moment, and then she carefully climbed the cold ice sculpture. She had to be extremely careful with her footing, but she made it up without much problems. She looked down at Hewie. The canine was relaxing on the stone floor next to the pillar. He didn't seem to sense any danger; neither did he appear to be in agony. The bleeding from his side had stopped and the dog was now cleaning his fur with his tongue. The Magna Esca had done the trick.

Fiona had climbed up to a small balcony on the second floor. There was only one way to go. She passed through an open door and found herself inside what had to be the mansion study. Books filled up shelf after shelf, which lined the walls from top to bottom, and bookcases took up most of the space in the small area. "What an incredible number of books," she mumbled. The numerous volumes were written in various languages, many of which she didn't even recognize. It was not Italian, not French or German or even Latin. Sanskrit perhaps? "Whoever read all of these must have had a superb education," she thought. "They were probably considered a genius for their time… or our time for that matter." She walked alongside the shelves, scanning the covers to see if she recognized any of the volumes. "Hmpf! What am I doing?" she said aloud. She could just forget about it, she couldn't even read the titles. Even the desk was filled with books. There was not a square inch of workspace left on the desktop. Fiona took a closer look at the pile, the mountain of books were journals composed in ancient Italian. The oldest date was Feb. 8. 1784, but she could still understand the writing. It said, _I have decided to summon that renounced master alchemist to the castle. There is talk that the count has used a technique called the "dry method" to obtain eternal life. Though some may consider it sacrilege, but with the Lord's thankless cooperation, I'll base my research off any findings obtained through their generous sacrifices._ The journals continued into the 19th century with dates ranging from 1822 to 1898. Apparently, this "dry method" seemed to carry no side effects, was not bound by neither time nor any kind of "spiritual energies", but it was still not enough to fully realize the writer's dreams. Maybe it was because even though "the dry method" seemingly gave you eternal life, the body would still decay. The Lord's skin crackled, his flesh rotted and his entrails liquefied. After nearly one hundred years of research, it was concluded that any further research would be pointless without the sacred Azoth. The last date was from Dec. 29. 1944. _My interest toward my dry method is waning. But I shall write its formula, as well as the result of my research here. A group of followers and I have calmed the four flames which symbolize the basic elements. Thusly, the alchemic chain has been ruptured and the spirit ahs been eternally freed from the body._

Followers… Calming the flame? It sounded like smaller steps to a larger process, but what sort of process? What could all this mean? The dates of the journals were to spread out to have been written by the same man. Fiona started to flip through the papers lying on the desktop in search for more clues when she heard Hewie howling outside. She'd promised to be quick, so she had to hurry. But why had Lorenzo sent her up here in the first place? Had she missed something? A rusty, steep ladder was blocking the way in one of the back corners. There was something shiny on the top step, but the ladder was in such bad shape that it would most certainly fall apart the second Fiona tried to climb the steps. However, the problem could easily be fixed with a good kick or two. It took three hits before the key fell to the floor. Fiona ran around the bookcase and picked up a tin forged key. The symbol Jupiter was engraved into its head. Now where had she seen this symbol earlier? Ah, the two twin doors at the lowest floor. A closed door led out of the study. It was locked, but the key was in the hole. Fiona was just about to turn it around, when she stopped, hesitated... Something felt wrong, very wrong. She had to trust her own judgment; she was not going crazy or paranoid. Someone was standing on the other side of the door, waiting for her… She peered through the keyhole, and jumped back. Her blood turned to ice. She could've sworn she had seen the maid's green uniform. She peeked again, this time she could see Daniella's blood-dripping hand holding the glass shard. Slowly Fiona backed away as silently as she could. The maid was, in fact, out to kill her, but why? What had Fiona done to her?

The door in the study just led out to the wooden walkway that she'd been walking on earlier, so there was no need to unlock it. Fiona tried to climb down the ice pillar the best she could, but on trembling legs, _that_ was easier said than done. Moreover, she had to hurry; the maid would soon understand that she had been discovered. She slid on the slippery surface and stumbled down the last two metres, called for Hewie to follow and hurried inside. In the middle of the corridor, she turned left and descended a spacious staircase. Half way down, the path divided in two, one to the right, the other to the left. A sort of warning sign hung on the wall in front of Fiona, it was lit up by torches on each side. _The right path leads to the truth whilst the left path leads to deception. When the shroud of deception is lifted, the fog will fade and the hidden path will make itself known. Oh ye faithful flock, right these wrongs. If three truths exist, it must be so that three lies also exist. _Great, another riddle she had to solve.

At the bottom of the stairs the two rooms had been designed as a symmetrical match; they were like a mirror image to one another. Red candles were burning from chandeliers and lamps on the eastern walls threw a cobweb of shadows on the stones. Closets stood next to the entrances and small tables were placed alongside the walls on each side of the rooms. Even the content on the tables were the same; different sorts of old chemical instruments with a stack of notes on one table, and a chessboard on the other. Models of different bugs and their accompanying sketches decorated the walls next to the entries. On the other side of the rooms were two pairs of creepy wax figures and devices for distilling things and huge, industrialized kilns were burning fiercely hot inside small alcoves. Nevertheless, there was something different about the room in the south. How should she put it? Something… just didn't feel right. Even thought the maid was in the north room poking into the fireplace under the furnace, she still felt more uneasy inside the south room. The wax figures made the hairs stand up on her body. These things wouldn't come to life like in the movies, right? Wait a second; there _was _something different about this pair. The standing figure's hand was resting on the shoulder of the crouching figure. In the other room, both arms hung down to his side. She took away its hand from its partner's shoulder. It felt dry and leathery, not like wax at all. A deep rumble could be heard and the whole building started to shake. Hewie was running around inside the room and barking furiously. She could hear the sound of chains, the shifting of gears and then it sounded like something shifted into place. After a few seconds, it was quiet again. Fiona shifted, feeling more and more uneasy by the minute. Had something moved? Then she noticed the massive hourglass on a shelf next to the furnace. Unlike the one in the other room, all the sand was gathered at the bottom. Fiona turned the heavy thing around. It was quite a task. Once again, she heard rumbling, shaking and shifting of gears. What on earth was going on? The words from the sign she'd just read flashed before her eyes, a mysterious riddle of forewarning. _Right these wrongs… three truths… three lies… _Was she in a twisted game of find the three errors? Was her own life the price she would have to pay if she made a mistake? She turned to look at the wax figures again; chills were going down her spine. She had found two of the three "wrongs." The kiln was burning fiercely hot. The maid had been shifting through the burning coal. She picked up the glowing fire poker. "_No!" _a voice said inside her. She immediately dropped it like it was contagious; _it was a set up_. She stepped back; knowing she had to be watchful. She didn't notice anything different about the distilling device or the items on the table to the north. She wondered what sort of liquid was inside the flasks. She studied the bug models on the wall above; she'd never seen such bugs before. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn't find anything that was different from the other room. She turned to the other table. A chessboard covered half the surface. Here of all places? "I guess they used it to take their mind off things." While she was studying the pieces, she felt a tingle under her skin. Something… was different. The chessboard was the last piece of this sinister puzzle she knew it. She closed her eyes, trying hard to remember how the pieces had been arranged in the other room. With trembling, clammy fingers, she moved the pieces, and felt a surge of relief when she heard the rumbling and shaking for the third time. She was done here, time to find out what she'd triggered to go off.

Up in the hallway everything looked just as dark and eerie as it had before. Fiona wondered which way to go when Hewie started growling. His body tensed and his ears went back. A moment later, Fiona heard footsteps coming from the other hall. She quickly tiptoed over to a column and crouched behind it, cursing at the noise her boots made. "Miss Fiona?" the maid said as she rounded the corner. Fiona held her breath, hoping the woman wouldn't find her. Hewie was barking and running up and down the corridor, sneering at the woman dressed in green. The maid stopped, scanned the area and turned to go the other way. A minute later a high-pitched scream could be heard followed by the sound of glass breaking; the maid had seen her reflection in the mirror that Fiona had uncovered earlier. The highly unstable woman came back into the hallway where Fiona was hiding. She was once again walking in these awkward, robotic steps. Was she really a cyborg or an android of sorts like she had been hinting to at the dinner table? Daniella stopped, shook her head and called out Fiona's name yet again. It sounded like something was jumbling around inside her head. Then she resumed staggering over the chessboard pattern and disappeared through a door. Hewie was right next to Fiona so she signalled to him to follow her and they went inside a door nearby and crossed the carousel with the intent of escaping through the T-shaped walkway on the other side without the psychotic maid noticing. Was she really a man-made woman? A woman with a perfectly created body that happened to be a mental case? The giant, was he a creation too? Who had created them? What was Lorenzo's role in this? And where in God's name had she ended up now?

They were definitely not back in the red-lit hallway. Fiona stepped down a small stair and looked around, perplexed. Thin bladed sabres lined the wall to her right and a table to her left was filled with sadistic items like restraints, a whip and various surgical instruments. All of the different props were covered in rust and dried blood. A stretching mechanism lined the wall in front of her. "God only knows what they used it on…" Fiona thought. On the other side of the room, an oven burned an angry red. "I'd rather not think about the kind of things they burn using this oven," she mumbled. Warily, she looked around, hair rising on her skin. "Especially in this creepy place." Alcoves on both sides of the furnace housed a divine statue to the left and a huge birdcage to the right. The cage seemed too large to be for birds, but too small for a person. On the other side of the cage huge spikes jutted out from inside an iron maiden. Chains and handcuffs were screwed on to the walls and the floor was caked with blood. But it was the corpse sitting in a chair in the middle of the room that caught Fiona's attention. A cord connected the chair to a circuit breaker attached on the wall next to the entry, which told Fiona that the chair hadn't been used for sitting, but something far more diabolical. Of course, what would a well-hidden, eerie and mysterious medieval castle be without its very own secret torture room?

Fiona walked over to the mummified body. Except for a small piece of cloth wrapped around the hips, it was completely naked. There were traces on its body that suggested it had been heavily tortured. The skin, even though it had turned hard and leathery, still showed traced of scars and other injuries. An inverted Y-incision intersected the chest. A key hung from its neck. Fiona reached out to take it. The corpse grabbed her hand, raised its head and stared fiercely into her eyes. It held on to her wrist for a moment before letting go. The sudden, unexpected movement and the horrific realization of what had just happened sent Fiona screaming to the floor. She stood up on shaking legs and locked eyes at the individual in the chair. _A dead body had just attacked her_! Keeping some distance, she carefully examined the body from head to toe. It was a corpse no doubt, but still, it wasn't dead. Or more precisely, the body was dead. It had decayed a long time ago, but the soul, the spirit, was still there somehow attached to the dead body. Fiona came to think about the journals she'd read in the study; about the Lord whose flesh had decayed, skin rotted and entrails liquefied, but he had still lived on. Had this individual been exposed to the "dry method" and given eternal life? Had he, unable to die, been incessantly tortured and tormented by some cruel person? Or persons? Who'd do such a thing? Moreover, why didn't the soul leave the cadaver? Her eyes wandered to the sculpture. It portrayed two individuals where each was holding a pot, and two similar pots were standing over the heads and by the feet. All the jars had a triangle carved into the front and they were emitting a yellow flame. The triangles were presented in the colours red, green, blue and yellow. On the floor in front of the statue were four square-shaped platforms. The same triangles were carved onto the elevations, and were also in red, yellow, green and blue. "Is this a tool used to torture innocent victims?" Fiona wondered. Tiny letters engraved on the statue described the four basic elements fire, air, earth and water. Fire was composed of hotness and dryness, air of hotness and moistness, earth of dryness and coldness and water of moistness and coldness. From what Fiona could understand, the colour red represented hotness and blue moistness, meaning red and blue symbolized air. Yellow stood for dryness and green for coldness, so yellow and green meant earth. Finally, Yellow and red was fire and blue and green was water. Moreover, it appeared to be what was holding on to the soul. Fiona stepped onto the platform to the right, with the red triangle, to read the last part. The elevation disappeared and the platform now had the same level as the rest of the floor. _"And so, by linking these four elements together it is said that the fundamental Karena Aurea or "alchemic bond" is formed. That which binds flesh and spirit together for an infinitum." _Hewie was sniffing around and eventually stepped on the elevation to the left. The fire went out in the jar with the red triangle. "Stop!" Fiona ordered. The journals in the study, _this _is what they had been referring to. In order to free the spirit from the body one had to calm the four flames that symbolized the four basic elements. She stepped over to the platform with the green triangle and the flame protruding from the jar at the bottom died out. "Come on," she said to Hewie and pointed at the last elevation with the blue triangle. The two last flames went out and the spirit freed itself from the body in a cascade of blue fireworks that went into the jars. The flames had turned form a bright, hot yellow to a clear and cool blue.

Any remaining life energy inside the corpse had been totally drained away, sucked out by the statue behind it. Fiona was now free to grab the copper forged Venus key, which would unlock the door into the greenhouse. As she did, she couldn't help but noticing the peaceful look on its face. Like it had wanted to die the whole time…

Back in the hallway again, Fiona wondered hwat was on the other side of the carousel-. Deciding to find out, she called for Hewie, found her way into the red hallway and went through the door. This carousel was different, the three horses had been painted red, and the music sounded off-key. Wait… what was that smell? It smelled like… like something was alive. Surely, it was just red paint and not… no, best not to think about it. Then she'd be fine. She realized it a moment before she entered the area. She'd end up inside the fence… where the maid was cleaning. Fiona and Hewie were now trapped inside a small, closed up area with a psychotic, murderous woman. Fiona walked on her toes back to the door, hoping the maid wouldn't notice her, but with Hewie growling that was impossible. Daniella turned and spoke in her usual low, monotonous tone. "Miss Fiona." She tilted her head. "What a dirty little princess." She picked out a lavender coloured crystal from a pocket and gave it to Fiona. "A small present from the Lord of the castle," she explained and then she turned her back to the young woman. "But...?" Fiona stuttered, perplexed. Daniella turned once more. "Miss, it's cleaning time now," she stated. Then she resumed polishing the already pristine table. Reflected light form the glass shard behind her sent shivers down Fiona's spine. "Cleaning time" could be over any minute so they had better get moving. Moreover, if the giant and the maid were artificially created, she sure as hell wasn't staying around to meet the creator.

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**About the swearwords, I don't think it's out of character for Fiona because I have noticed that she uses mild profanity whenever agitated, stressed or simply frustrated. Next chapter on its way:)**


	16. Chapter 15 The Graveyard

CHAPTER FIFTEEN - THE GRAVEYARD

Inside the greenhouse full-bodied flowers of different colours sprouted from the beds. The warm and damp air inside the greenhouse made it hard to breath. Palm threes, exotic leaves and water pipes made up the rest of the inventory. Fiona picked up a plant with yellow blossoms from the floor. A high-pitch shriek ruptured the air, making Fiona cringe and cover her ears in pain. After a few seconds it stopped. Fiona stared at the plant she had just held in her hand. It had been totally dried out. She would never look at a plant the same way again…

It seemed that the flowers were in need of a constant supply of light and water. Fiona found an info sheet about the plants. First, she thought it said Magnolia, but the name of the plants was actually Mandragora. She'd never heard the name before. The story behind the making of the Mandragora and their use was as dark and mysterious as the rest of the castle. However, there was one word that caught her attention, Hebel. The crystalline holder that the maid had given her was labelled Hebel perfume. She turned the small card; _made with the extracted essence of the Hebel flower. _She'd sniffed the liquid in the hallway earlier, but hadn't smelled anything. A perfume sans odour. Or maybe the smell was just undetectable to humans. But Hewie might be a different story. "That big nose has to serve some purpose, right boy," she said to the dog as she let him sniff the content of the bottle. Hewie reacted immediately. He went over to the bed holding only white flowers and barked. The only problem was that Fiona had no idea what to do with the plants, or even if she needed them at all. According to the info sheet, the leaves were poisonous and she didn't feel like running around at random with a screaming plant that might be hazardous to her health. Especially when a cruel and highly dangerous woman was lurking around the gloomy hallways. The info sheet, the perfume, Hewie barking at the white flowers, it couldn't be just a coincidence. However, there were no more hints in the greenhouse so she called out to Hewie and they somewhat reluctantly, headed back to the mansion.

She walked through the now well-known corridors as silently as she could. So much had happened over the last 30 minutes, so many new rooms to explore, so much new information. She tried to gather her thoughts and relive the last half hour, but with simultaneously having to listen for footsteps made it hard to focus. Perhaps she should revisit every room in case she'd missed something. A voice inside her head told her that wasn't necessary. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking. The thought of going back to the torture room was… wait a sec, _the torture room. _It hadn't been accessible until after she'd solved the Jupiter puzzle. But the rumbling noise and the shifting of gears had been too loud and forceful to just turn the carousel. The whole building had been shaking; something else must have happened as well. Fiona made a full turn, went past the eerie dolls and the shattered mirror. On the other side of the door at the end of the hallway, a bridge had been lowered from the upper floor and Fiona could now reach the door on the other side. Thankful and optimistic, she crossed the bridge, opened the door, called out Hewie's name and stepped out to a garden. She could see the manor's full shape from where she stood. The west wing was over to the left so she walked over the grass, sick-sacked bushes and gravestones and dodged a luminessant. In the middle of the garden, a closed gate blocked her way. Darn, it was shut. She peered through the bars; on the other side were more gravestones and an entry into the building could be seen in the distance. The windows were the same flaming red as she'd seen earlier. She wondered if the west wing would prove just as hard to… Wait… gravestones…? Slowly, she turned, her eyes scanning the area. Hewie was barking at a luminessant dancing in the air. It came closer and closer. Up on the second floor, she could se the balcony she'd been standing on earlier. Her skin tingled… again. The rocks around her… They were gravestones. She wasn't in a garden she was in a graveyard!

And even worse, it was another dead end. She wanted to sit down and cry, to scream out her anger, sorrow and frustration. Why did this keep happening to her, _why? _But she was afraid that if she did that, this cemetery would end up as her last resting place as well. Spending the eternity here sent shivers down her spine, the thought about being buried here among… well, whoever was interred in this graveyard. She examined the gravestones. Hm, that was odd. She dodged the luminessant, walked the full length of the cemetery she had access to and read the gravestones. Though each stone were engraved with a different DOB and DOD, they all had the same name, Aureolus Belli. Now what in the world could _that _mean? But more importantly, was there a secret passage going from here over to the other side? She picked out the map from her boot and scrutinized both sides, closely examining every detail. She did not notice the luminessant until it hit her forehead, erupting a loud noise in the process. A jolt of electricity went through Fiona's body and sent a wave of pain down to her chest. She cursed and rubbed her temple. Luckily, the maid didn't appear. Only seconds later, the other luminessant vanished into thin air. But she quickly forgot about the unpleasant experience, she had just found a series of pathways going under the gard… eh, graveyard, and the entry seemed to be over at the… mausoleum! Great. She walked over to the burial site. Hewie was growling at the entrance. Words were written down on a plate in front of the chamber. This did not sound promising. _Dead spirits craving for life, crawling back from the underworld. Sip of the fresh-flowing life blood. When you thirst is quenched, return to the darkness from where you came._

Spirits? Life blood? "No matter how you cut it, these don't sound like the words of rest spoken to the dearly departed," Fiona mumbled. Warily, she stepped around the corner to the entry. It was to dark to see anything inside, though it did look like there could be something moving in the back. But really, spirits craving for life blood? It sounded like the kind of ghost stories kids tells each other around a campfire, scaring each other before bedtime. She focused her eyes on the object, and the ghost story became real. A skeletonized hand emerged from the darkness and waved at Fiona in a "come here" gesture. For the second time in just the last hour, Fiona jumped back at the sudden and unexpected realization that a corpse was grasping for her arm. However, this time she managed to back away in time. She stood up and watched the bizarre sight of moving, skeleton hand. Though it didn't seen too terribly dangerous, she had the feeling that if she started poking her hands in places they shouldn't be she could get sucked right on in, a lesson she'd learned all too well. She'd been attacked, pulled and dragged more than once over the last couple of hours _doing just that_. "It's almost as if it wants something…" she thought while crouching to get a better view of the crypt's floor. "There are traces as if something has recently been ripped to shreds here. It looks rather dried out, but I think this is a plant of sorts." A dried out plant? Life blood? What had the Mandragora info sheet said again? "Come on, boy," she called out and ran back to the greenhouse.

A bit short of breath from too much running, she skimmed through the Mandragora info sheet. Hewie was still barking at the bed with the white flowers. She'd been right; the plants growing here was created and cultivated to be given as sacrifice to the dead spirits in the crypt. _In order to procure the large quantity of blood required to complete the grand process, a fusion of plant and animal known as the floranimalia was created. It was originally derived form a secret formula and named the Mandragora. Multiple plant types were fused in an attempt to create the Mandragora, but only the combination of the Hebel seemed to process a similar liquid composition. In current research, our subjects are nearly identical to the real Mandragora. Flower colour and an ever so faintly difference in smell is the only was to tell the original from the substitute. _Fiona glanced at the crystalline flask standing on the edge of one of the flowerbeds. The Hebel perfume, made from the essence of the Hebel flower, -the white Mandragora. A present from the Lord of the castle. Lorenzo? Apparently, Hewie had pointed out the right plant from sniffing the perfume. So all she needed to do now was pull out one of the white Mandragoras from the earth and give the plant to the spirit and they would be allowed to enter the crypt. Sounded easy enough. Or not.

Fiona read on, _Caution must be exercised. If the Mandragora is ever uprooted, it has two powerful defence mechanisms. It emits a loud ear-rupturing shriek, and it can paralyse its attacker with its poisonous leaves._

_If the situation becomes too dangerous, one should quickly throw away the Mandragora to get out of harms way._

She'd already heard the ear-rupturing shriek, and the thought about running around holding a plant that could be hazardous to her health made her more that a little uneasy, but it was the only way to access the crypt and to get to the other side of the manor. She walked up to the bed, white blossomed plants sprouted from the soil. "Ok, Hewie. Here goes nothing," she said, drew a deep breath and yanked one of the plants free.

The flower's root let out an ear-splitting shriek as she pulled it out of the dirt. She had no idea if it was a scream of pain, fear or just plain instinct, a reaction to the exposure to light. She opted for the last option; how was it even possible for a plant to scream in the first place? She didn't want to ponder on the process of fusing a plant and an animal together; she just wanted to move on. The poison was already starting to show its effect, the skin that was in direct contact with the leaves was burning, felt itchy and singed, and her pulse was racing faster and faster. She ran out the door, under the dragon and straight into Daniella.

Fiona screamed in horror and quickly back stepped to avoid getting hurt by the sharp glass. In doing so, she tripped in her feet, staggered two steps forward, stumbled on a stone and went flying through the entry. She fell hard on her back. The maid leaned back and chuckled, seemingly enjoying the show. Hewie started biting her leg and she vigorously shook her body to free herself. Fiona tried to stagger on to her feet, but she was so shaky. The poison was already flowing in her veins and she felt the panic rising fast, too fast. Daniella shook Hewie of and she could hear the dog howl in pain. The maid headed straight towards Fiona and waved her deadly weapon at the petrified young woman. She barely missed and Fiona felt the air whooshing past her, she stumbled back and fell to the floor once more. Holding on to the plant, she crawled over the dirty chessboard pattern. She was barely able to control her breathing, her mouth was dry and her heart pounded so hard it threatened to break her ribs. Through the hollering sound ringing in her ears, she heard the muffled sound of Hewie barking somewhere in the distance and the maid's footsteps behind her.

Daniella stopped next to Fiona, held the glass up to her face to study the transparent object, and then she stretched out her hands and laughed. She'd always had such a hard time understanding how something as beautiful as broken glass could be so dangerous. She would always pick up pieces of broken glass whenever she found it. She knew she wasn't allowed to but she couldn't help herself. Between her chores, she could sit for hours caressing the pieces. She loved how the clear, translucent crystal reflected the light. It was pure and flawless, it was… perfect. And now she would kill the girl with it. Miss Fiona had been running and screaming for many hours and now the filthy princess lay defenceless on the filthy floor. She was scared, terrified of feeling pain. Daniella couldn't understand why, but it didn't matter. Soon the girl would die and _she_ would finally be whole. Daniella enjoyed every second of it. She raised her weapon high over Fiona's body ready to deliver the killing stroke.

Hewie attacked the malicious woman just in time to save Fiona from being stabbed to death. By jumping on her back and biting on her shoulders, he gave Fiona just enough time to escape. Daniella was much smaller than Debilitas and the weight of the Alsatian made her stumble back. "No." she said, struggling to keep her balance. In full panic, Fiona forced herself up with an ear-splitting scream. She had no control; her legs seemed to be moving by themselves. Though she could hardly see what was in front of her and her feet would barely carry her, she was stumbling as fast as she could through the manor, constantly crashing into stone or metal while trying not to fall on the floor. She had no idea where she was heading, but she could feel her legs stumbling up stairs, crashing into more stone and running through a dark and narrow hallway. She hadn't been there before, but she knew it was a dead end. Luminessants were flying down the narrow passageway; she had to get out _-now_. She managed to make a 180 degrees turn and headed the other way. The maid was just a few steps behind her; she'd already caught up. Fiona ran faster and faster while screaming higher and higher. Darkness, then brightness and moistness, then it went darker again. She ran until she was abruptly stopped by a gap in the floor. It had been lowered earlier to allow passage to the graveyard. Fiona was balancing at the edge of the empty space focusing hard on not to fall down. The poison seeping from the leaves and into her veins was building up, threatening her sanity. She could hear footsteps nearby. The maid was coming, and she was trapped.

Fiona had to use all her willpower and strength to force her centre of gravity away from the hole. She staggered backwards and grabbed hold of a piece of cloth behind her. The fabric gave in and she slid a couple of inches to the floor before coming to a halt. At that moment, the maid entered the room. When she saw Fiona, she hissed and raised the glass shard. For a few seconds, she stared smilingly at the terrified young girl before lunging towards her at full speed. Fiona could do nothing but pray for a miracle to happen.

Faith was smiling on her once more. The cloth Fiona had grabbed hold on had covered a mirror. The maid caught a glimpse of her reflection and started to scream like the insane woman she was. Fiona spurted past her, yanked the door open and ran for her life. Half way over the greenhouse catwalk, she heard the mirror shatter into pieces. Her heart racing, she kept running towards the stairs, trying hard not to panic again. She met Hewie at the top of the stairway and yelled his name. With Hewie close by, she stumbled forward and down the steps. She used the wall as support as there were no banisters to hold on to, rounded a corner and just kept going. Every two seconds she fell forward and had to yank herself up with both hands. Finally, she reached the graveyard. She just had to pause for a moment; her heart was beating so hard. Her muscles were acing and her throat felt like sandpaper. She tried to swallow but she could not produce any saliva, her mouth was too dry. Hewie was running impatiently around in circles, urging her to move on. With trembling feet, she moved slowly towards the mausoleum. The terror and poison had almost immobilized her; she had to get rid of the Mandragora before its toxin would paralyse her completely. Once free from the poisonous leaves, the silver earrings with the shape of the uroboros would eventually calm her down. She had to get to the mausoleum before the maid found her. She just had to…

After what felt like hours, she finally reached the grave vault's entry. The spirits were waiting. The skeleton hand waved impatiently in the air and what sounded like growling emerged from the darkness. Did spirits growl? With trembling fingers, she placed the Mandragora in the corpse's hand. The bony fingers grabbed the plant and rapidly pulled away and disappeared into the shadows. A high-pitch shriek, louder than the ones she'd heard in the greenhouse ruptured the air mixed with a gnawing sounds coming from inside the grave. The deafening noise pierced through Fiona's bones, it was so loud it was directly painful. She covered her ears, moaned and cringed in agony. The screeching lasted for about half a minute, and then it went dead silent. Whatever had been guarding the entry was now gone.

Fiona and Hewie stared into the infinite darkness. Did she dare to enter? On the other hand, was it any safer up here? "Come on Hewie," she finally said. To no one. The canine had left her side. "Hewie?" Bewildered, Fiona looked over her shoulder. He'd been right here just a minute ago. She started to look for her canine friend, walking around the cemetery and calling his name. A sudden sensation of being watched made Fiona shiver. She froze. Alarmed, she turned her head. Her eyes widened in horror. The maid, she was standing only two yards behind her. With a faint smirk, she slowly side stepped to corner the young woman, cutting of possible escape routes. The earrings had calmed Fiona down somewhat and her body had already started to break down the poison, but now she could feel the fear building up again. Hands to her chest, she stepped back. Should she make a run for it? No! Not without Hewie.

Speaking of, the canine magically appeared, jumping out from a bush. The brave dog was standing as a guardian between Fiona and Daniella, fiercely growling and sneering at the malicious maid. Daniella swung her sword of glass at him, but Hewie dodged the deadly swipe by jumping back at the last minute. He lowered his back and raised his tail as to increase his attack power to maximum, then he attacked the maid with full force. Fiona watched in astonishment as the dog pinned the woman to the ground, ferociously biting and tugging on her hands and arms. The maid was just lying there, completely motionless, not even making a sound. It was as if she was just waiting for it to be over.

"_Hewie!" _Though grateful that he'd saved her, she called him back. Despite being psychotic and murderous, she couldn't just stand and watch the woman being killed. She just couldn't. Hewie let go of Daniella and walked over to Fiona's side. The maid was lying in a pile of blood. Fiona thought she had seen the woman's chest slowly moving up and down, but she wasn't sure. However, she didn't dare to check for a pulse. There was nothing she could do for the woman without risking her own life. Together, they carefully stepped into the darkness and descended to the crypt.

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**This chapter is one of my personal favourties, hope you guys enjoyed to read it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I just wanna say that I'm gonna skip the golems and the library puzzle, but I'll be sure to include all the awesome Daniella scenes. But first, we're gonna see how the investigators are doing.**

Thanks for the kind review, AerithGast88. As always. I hope you like how this story is progressing.

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	17. Chapter 16 A Possible Breakthrough

CHAPTER SIXTEEN - A BREAKTHROUGH OR A DEAD END?

The background check of Fiona Belli yielded nothing of interest. Born in London in 1986, she has been dancing ballet since the age of 4, took piano lessons from the age 10 till she turned 16 and worked at an animal shelter from the age of 14 until starting college this year. She's very shy and quiet, has few friends and has always been very close to her parents and aunts. She goes to college in Oxford where she attends courses in History of Arts and English Language and Literature. According to her aunts, she has been talking about enrolling to a course in Science and Medicine next year. Harrison stretched both arms over his head, memories of being young and having to choose a future career filled his mind. Having no idea what he'd wanted to do with his life, he'd gone of to The United Stated to spend one year at a high school in Montana and had ended up living there for over 5 years.

Except for being somewhat less social than what was common for girls her age, there was noting out of the ordinary about Miss Belli. He put her file down and opened Mrs. Ayla Belli's folder. She'd been born in London in 1966 of Liam and Sylvia Donaldson as the second of three girls. Her father had been a journalist and her mother had been working in a boutique. The older sister was named Amanda, a 50 year old nurse with no family of her own. The younger sister, Sophia, is 32 and works as a freelance journalist. Their father had suffered a major coronary attack at the age of 50 and died shortly thereafter, their mother is living at an old people's home. As a young child, Ayla Donaldson had been a prodigy and was exceptionally talented in subjects like mathematics, chemistry and biology. At the age of 17 she already spoke four languages. In 1984, she was accepted at a prestigious college in Milan, Italy where, over the next two years, she would be studying biochemistry, molecular biology and the newest breakthrough in DNA-technology. However, she had returned to England only one year later, in January 1986. A few days later she married Ugo Belli and ten months later, Fiona was born. She'd never picked up her studies, but she did learn three more languages and, besides her work as a translator, she worked as a supply language teacher for schools and academies.

"Why would she waste such an opportunity?" Harrison wondered. Simple math told him that Mrs Belli hadn't been pregnant when she'd left Italy so why the rush? He opened the folder on Ugo Belli hoping it would answer some of his questions. It did, or more precisely, the complete lack of information about Mr. Belli before he came to England told Harrison that something was up. There was the usual info about previous and current employments, accounts from his sisters-in-law and some other insignificant facts, everything from the last twenty years. It was as if the man didn't exist before January 1986. Sure they had a DOB, but there was no birth certificate or any other documentation to verify its authenticity. Harrison flipped his notebook to a clean page, wrote the names of Ayla and Ugo Belli and the years 1985 under Ayla's name and 1986 under Ugo's name. Then he drew a huge question mark. After pressing a few keys on his laptop, the number to the University in Milan came up on the screen. Peering out the window, he could see the sky was turning red. Sunset was under an hour away. He flipped open his mobile and dialled the number praying that he wasn't the only one working late. He got directed to the right department, was put on hold and after what seemed like an eternity, he was finally speaking with one of Ayla's former professors. Harrison was rewarded for his long wait, not only was the professor fluent in English, he also remembered Miss Donaldson quite well. The aspiring and gifted Signorina had enrolled to his classes, excited about studying the state of the art and cutting edge technology in DNA methods. She'd loved her studies and still to this day, she'd been one of his best students. Then one day, in August 1985, just before the start of the semester, she dropped out of the university and left shortly thereafter. Apparently she'd received an offer she couldn't say no to. The mysterious corporation had demanded absolute anonymity and full discretion, but from what he had understood, it had been a family corporation not far away. He didn't know anyone with the name Ugo Belli. Harrison thanked him and hung up. That mysterious company that Mrs Belli had left the university for… were there a connection to Mr. Ugo Belli? To this case? He googled "Belli," "Family business" and "Italy" and made some more phone calls. Nothing. He had no idea if this was relevant to Fiona Belli's disappearance or not, but it was the only lead he had. He thought about the deformed corpse found in the back seat of the charred vehicle. Maybe they're not on the web at all? They probably held a low profile. Whoever _they _are. After a quick online search, he found an expert of the history in northern Italy and the Interpol division in Italy provided him with the home number.

Signora Azzura Casartelli answered on the third ring. Harrison politely presented himself and apologised for phoning her at home, but stressed the importance of his call. Excited to be able to help and Interpol investigator, she assured him in heavily accented English that it was no problem.

"How can I help you Signor Harrison?" she asked.

"In one of our investigations, the name Belli has come up," Harrison started. He didn't wish to go into more detail than necessary, but he had to make sure she understood how important this was. "I need information about families or businesses in northern Italy that have the name Belli as soon as possible, a young woman's life may depend on it," he said and gave her his mobile number.

"Oh my. I'll see what I can do," she responded. "Belli isn't that common of a name, but there is still a lot of data I need to go through. My final results won't be available until tomorrow evening."

Harrison hesitated. "Please call me within the hour and give me an overview, Signora." Just before he hung up he said, "Limit your research to the rural parts. The more desolate the area is the better."

As soon as he'd hung up, Guillot called. He would be spending the rest of the evening investigating the incinerated building and interrogating eye-witnesses and then he would go home. He advised Harrison to end the day as well, but the British detective had no intention to do so. Instead, he updated the Frenchman about the background check of the Belli family and told him about his theories. Guillot didn't answer right away. When he eventually spoke, he admitted that it sounded interesting and that he would read through the notes first thing tomorrow. His voice however, conveyed doubt. Harrison was used to that. A moment later, Dr. Gautier called. He'd just been speaking to the odontologist. Ugo and Ayla Belli were now confirmed dead and Fiona Belli was officially listed as missing. Harrison outlined his theory about cloning. The coroner promised to look into it, bus as Guillot, his voice held little conviction. Half an hour and a sandwich and three cups of coffee later, Mrs Casartelli called back.

"Hello again Signor Harrison. Thanks to your request of only searching the rural areas, I already have a preliminary report ready for you."

"That's great. Thank you Signora," Harrison said, relieved.

"I'm afraid there's not much of interest, Signor. I've found some small family businesses, a bakery here, a farm there, a factory owned by Giorgio Belli in the outskirts of Geneva, a Belli castle in Piedmont, a dairy farm in Valle d'Aosta…"

"_Wait! _What did you say? A castle!?" Fast. Eager. Heart pounding. Fingers shaking. He could feel his skin tingle and his stomach flutter, a sensation he knew well. It was his instinct telling him when something was right. When working on cases with little or no leads, his gut feeling would often lead him in the right direction even when there was no proof or evidence to support his intuition. This strong sixth sense of his had the uncanny ability to be dead on and he'd learned the hard way what could happened if he did not listen to it. Now it had awakened at the sound of _Belli castle_.

"Yes," Madame Casartelli said. "But I'm afraid it's nothing, dear. The castle has been inhabited for centuries now. No one is sure of its exact location or even if it still stands any more. I had actually forgotten all about this castle myself and _I _thought I knew all the medieval buildings in the northern part of Italy," she said with a chuckle.

"What can you tell me about this castle?" Sharp. His gut feeling growing more and more intense.

"It was built in the 11th century and was inhabited by the Belli family for almost four hundred years. They were known to be cruel and ruthless and were feared by the villagers. They saw themselves as great alchemists and were widely known for their search for wealth and eternal life. The last person to inhabit the castle was Aureoles Belli, probably named after the Occultist Aureolus Philippus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, also known as Paracelsus, a Swiss born alchemist, physician & surgeon, from the 16th century. Aureolus Belli died in 1587 and the castle has been vacant ever since." The historian took a pause to draw her breath, and then she continued. Harrison didn't interrupt her once.

"The following centuries many rumours about Belli castle were floating amongst the villagers and farmers living close the estate. Strange sounds could allegedly be heard emerging from the buildings, shadows were seen lurking behind the walls and when people mysteriously started to vanish at night, people got scared and soon they all moved away."

Harrison clenched his phone. This was too good to be true. Belli castle was the perfect place. This was it, he knew it. "Signora, you have been most helpful, but could you please do me one more favour and send me all the information you have concerning this Belli castle? " She agreed to do it right away, he gave her the fax number and with trembling fingers he hung up. Seconds later the fax machine summed to life.

He read the content and learned everything there was to know about Belli castle. It wasn't much. There was nothing about the castle on the internet. He searched the name Belli. It could mean both the plural form of bello (beautiful) and the genitive of bellum 'war'. Casus Belli: An act seen as justifying or causing a war. Interesting, but irrelevant. He looked up alchemy in an online encyclopaedia. Apparently the alchemic work field went well beyond the creation of gold. According to Mirriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition, 1995, _**ALCHEMY**__ Arabic: al, the, kimiya, chemia. The chemistry of the Middle Ages and the 16th century, a medieval speculative science and philosophy aiming to achieve the transmutation of base metals into gold, the discovery of a universal cure for disease, and a means to indefinitely prolong life._

He thought it weird that he'd never heard this before. He tried to remember what he'd learned about alchemy in history class. Alchemists had laid much of the standard of modern day chemistry, had invented a lot of equipment that was still being used in laboratories today and had discovered many of the basic elements now filling up the periodic table. But he had no idea of what the alchemists had actually been doing. He googled Aureoles Belli. Noting. What about Aureolus von Hohenheim? Born Phillip von Hohenheim in 1493 in Switzerland, Paracelsus had died 1541 in Austria. He'd been the inventor of Iatrochemistry. About his philosophy it said: _Paracelsus believed in the Greek concept of the four elements, but he also introduced the idea that, on another level, the cosmos was fashioned from three spiritual substances: the tria prima of Mercury, Sulfur and Salt. These substances were not the simple substances we recognise today, but were rather broad principles that gave every object both its inner essence and outward form. Mercury represented the transformative agent (fusibility and volatility); Sulfur represented the binding agent between substance and transformation (flammability); and Salt represented the solidifying/substantiating agent (fixity and incombustibility). For example, When a piece of wood is burnt, the products reflect its constitution: Smoke reflects Mercury, flame reflects Sulfur, and Ash reflects Salt. The tria prima also defined the human identity. Sulfur embodied the soul, (the emotions and desires); Salt represented the body; Mercury epitomized the spirit (imagination, moral judgment, and the higher mental faculties). By understanding the chemical nature of the tria prima, a physician could discover the means of curing disease._

Fascinating, but why had he been the role model of the Bellis? Were the Bellis still living there? Had they been hiding all these years or was there now a different group occupying the castle. Was this the mysterious family corporation that Ayla Belli's former professor had been referring to? He had no idea, but somehow he knew Fiona Belli had been taken to this castle. He called Gretchen Buchard, his superior at Interpol headquarters in Lyon. A woman in her early fifties answered. Harrison wasted no time.

"I might have a fix on whereabouts of the missing girl," he started.

"Wonderful, agent Harrison." Professional tone. "Fill me in."

He told her about what he'd learned so far about the Belli family, the mystery surrounding Ugo Belli, Ayla Bellis mysterious offer and the enigmatic Belli castle. He even included his theory about the misshaped skeleton found in the incinerated car.

"And?" Buchard said coolly.

"And?" Harrison repeated. "Do you really think this is just coincidence? The girl has been brought to this castle by some unknown group of people and something is going on there, I know it," he insisted.

"Look Harrison, You know I respect you and your judgement but I simply cannot act on this, I cannot call the Italian authorities and order them to stake out or toss a building presumed to be deserted a long time ago, which no one even know for certain exists any more. Moreover, this… _castle_ is practically selected at random. I would come out looking like a fool. You got nothing to support your theory, no evidence, no nothing. It can at best be called circumstantial." She sounded composed, but her tone had an edge to it, which revealed her annoyance. Harrison squeezed the hood. He knew she was right, but so was he. How could he convince her?

"I know that my theory is a bit thin, but… this is the only lead we got. It is better to take action and risk being wrong than do nothing at all," he insisted. "Besides, my instinct has yet to fail me."

"Your lead and your so called "insight" can might as well be a product of your imagination, agent. It's not your ass that's on the line here. You've had a long day and you should get some rest. You may see this differently after a good nights sleep." She was being diplomatic, compromising. Harrison hated it. He hated when people didn't take him seriously.

"By doing nothing we leave this girl to her own faith! _I _cannot let _that_ happened!" he almost screamed into the phone. He was pushing it, he knew that. But he had learned only all to well what could be the result if he didn't follow his intuition. He already had one life on his conscience, damn if he was to have another.

"Careful now, agent." She no longer tried to hide her annoyance. "I have reported the girl missing to all Interpol agencies in Europe, and by doing so I have already exceeded my jurisdiction so don't accuse me of not believing in you, agent Harrison. But remember, this is _not _an officially Interpol investigation. We lend out your expertise as a service to the French authorities and as a favour to the London police. So unless you can prove that this castle is a secret hidey hole for some terrorist group or the mafia or that the girl is a victim of human trafficking, my hands are tight. Call me tomorrow." With that, she hung up.

Harrison cursed silently under his breath. When he had used all the English swearwords he could remember at the spur of the moment, he started the same procedure in French. Realizing it wouldn't help Fiona Belli much, he stopped and headed to the office to Monsieur Rochefort, hoping that the superintendent hadn't left his office yet. The police chief was just reaching for his jacket as Harrison knocked on the door. He told him what he'd told Buchard and once again, it was like talking to a wall. The chief just laughed at him and shook his head at his crazy theories. They would just have to wait for Dr. Gautier's report. With that, he went home to his wife.

Back in Guillot's office, Harrison slammed his hand on the desktop and sent his notebook flying through the room. He held the picture of Fiona in his hands and watched the last rays of sun disappearing under the horizon. How certain was he? Was young Ms. Belli really at this castle. He looked at the picture, then at Casartelli's prints. Oh yeah, he was sure all right. Was she still unharmed? Was she scared? Did she know about her parents? He pictured the young woman, alone, petrified, grieving over her parents and receiving no consolation. His heart acing for her, he remembered a case in LA. A girl had been reported missing, he found a clue leading to San Diego. Circumstantial, but his strong sixth sense had screamed at him to persuade it. The lead was ruled out to be a false alarm, and Harrison had been ordered to not follow it up. He had obeyed, every fibre in him screaming the opposite. Three days later the girl was found dead. She had been sixteen. The murderer had been caught and convicted and Harrison had been told that he'd helped to save the lives of many young girls. It hadn't felt that way. It was later turned out that the lead had been legitimate and if followed up, the girl would have been found alive. Harrison took it crushingly hard, still to this day he felt responsible for this girl's death. Fiona Belli smiled at him from the photo. Only eighteen years old, her whole life on front of her. This is not going to happened again, _this is not happening again…_ If no one else would save the girl, _he _would. But he couldn't do it alone, who knew what would meet him behind the walls of Belli castle. He had no experience with this kind of situations, but he knew someone who had. He picked up his phone and dialled a well-known number. It was answered after only one ring.

"Hey Eddie," an American voice said, knowing that Harrison hated to be called Eddie.

"You still in Paris?" Harrison asked, not remarking the use of his middle name.

"Yeah. Got off duty tonight. I'm leaving for the States first thing tomorrow. What's up, John? You got problems?"

"Well, it's this case I'm working on. Could you do me a major favour and push back your flight a few days? I really need your help here, mate." It was silent for a few seconds. When Harrison was about to say something, the voice answered.

"What's the case about?" His hoarse voice made him sound older that his actual age.

"A married couple has been murdered, incinerated in the car they were driving. And their teenage daughter is missing."

"That the case that's been on the news all day? So they've finally confirmed the identity?"

"Yes, but one of the corpses… that one is a mystery. And the girl, Fiona Belli has been kidnapped. I know where she is, but as usual, no one will take my gut feeling seriously." He gave some more information about the case, the missing data in Ugo and Ayla Belli's folders and his theories about the castle.

"You sure about this?" the voice said. ""You're one hundred per cent positive they've taken the girl to this castle?"

Harrison drew in a breath. "Yes I'm sure. I'd never ask you like this otherwise. The girl…"

"Hey, it's enough for me. I can change my ticket to Marseille or some other place nearby and rent a car from there. I'll be in Digne around nine. Sounds good?"

"Great." Harrison felt relieved. "I'll inform the night shift here that you'll be coming. Thanks again, mate. I have no idea what I'm diving into here, but you have pretty good experience with this kind of shit, you know, girls kidnapped by an unidentified group located in a remote place."

"Sure do. See you in two."

In a hotel in Paris, Leon S. Kennedy threw his bag over his shoulder and headed out the door.

* * *

**Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I'm such a huge Fiona and Leon fan I just couldn't help myself. And I know some of you will think this is awesome, while some of you might hate it, but this is my story. Tho he won't appear for another two-tree chapters. Next time we're back in Belli mansion.**


	18. Chapter 17 The End of the Maid from Hell

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - THE END OF THE MAID FROM HELL

The crypt wasn't as bad as Fiona had imagined. She and Hewie entered an area of roughly 12x16 ft. A golem stood stalwart in the southwest corner, facing east. Arms, shoulders and legs of soil were protruding from the walls as fragments of unfinished golems. A corpse was lying on a centre placed altar, clutching a stone tablet in a death grip. The only source of light was a candle burning next to the skull, its flickering flame casting ghostlike shadows on the earth walls that were dancing amongst the protruding limbs. It was quiet, but not the eerie silence one might have expected. Despite the dim light and the dead body on the altar, the tomb felt calm and peaceful.  
There were two pathways leading further into the crypt, though the one leading south was blocked by thick iron bars and was therefore inaccessible. Hewie had already entered the other passage, sniffing his way eastward. Fiona followed her canine friend, his white fur a stark contrast to the darkness surrounding them. The underground catacomb was supported by stone pillars set at certain intervals, and a few sparsely placed torches provided enough illumination for Fiona to notice the bones lying spread on the ground and the corpses that had been laid to rest inside recesses dug into the walls. Still, Fiona was cool and composed. She had entered a sacred ground and no one could hurt her down here, she could finally relax and breathe freely for a moment. "It is the living you have to fear, not the dead," she reminded herself. "One exception being the former inhabitants in Raccoon city," she added, remembering an incident that had been all over the news a few years ago.

After turning right four times, Fiona found herself on the other side of the iron bars, peering into the tomb's entrance. She climbed an ascending staircase to her right and entered a small patch of grass cut of from the rest of the graveyard. A furnace was burning a bright red, its chimney emitting a dreadful smell of burnt meat that made both Fiona and Hewie keep their distance. "Someone must be burning an animal carcass," Fiona though. Then all of a sudden, a loud screech cut through the air. It did not belong to the maid, nor was it the ear-piercing shriek of the Mandragora. It came from… the oven! Something… was moving inside the furnace. As she was staring into the blazing flames, the dreadful truth suddenly hit her. What looked like a human baby was being cooked alive! She felt like throwing up. "Surely it wasn't a child in there! Certainly such nonsense is the stuff of horror novels and such." She ran back to the crypt. "Things like that don't actually ever happen in the real world, not even in this absurd place would something so sick as babies being boiled alive ever happen," she told herself over and over not really believing it. Distressed by the horror that she'd just witnessed, she ran through the catacombs at random until reaching an iron door. She opened it and walked through a glass made tunnel within an aquarium. Schools of strange fish were gliding through the dark blue water. Some looked prehistoric, while others could have been the product of Steven Spielberg's imagination. On the other side of the channel, she ascended a sparsely lit staircase with water carrying pipes protruding out of the walls and ceiling. She entered a huge area filled with books. Packed shelves lined the walls, and several bookcases filled with old documents and manuscripts took up most of the floor space. The partition meant to separate the first and second floor was lacking and Fiona could see more book-filled shelves and a narrow catwalk at the upper level.

The same five authors, Agrippa, Framel, Sangerman, Paracelsus and the enigmatic Furkanelli had written most of the books in the library. Fiona moved along the shelves, tracing the volumes with her index finger, recognising only a few of the titles. One of the most interesting was _Cathedral Secrets_, published in 1922 by the French master alchemist Furkanelli. It spoke of the archaic alchemistic symbols lining the walls of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Another fascinating title was _Wiseman's Craft _by Nicolas Framel. The volume was filled with allegorical hieroglyphs and accompanying explanations. Fiona also recognised the title _Occult Philosophy _by the mysterious figure Agrippa, a black book that had been published in 1533, and discussed the secret techniques of Alchemy. These three men had always been surrounded by myths and mysteries, but the most enigmatic, and definitely the most famous figure was Nicolas Framel. The French writer had allegedly been the eighth Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, and he had supposedly been the most talented European alchemist of all times. It is said that he succeeded at the two magical goals of alchemy; making the Philosopher's Stone, which turns lead into gold, and achieving immortality along with his wife Perenelle. Framel has been mentioned in the Harry Potter and Indiana Jones novels as well as the popular _The DaVinci _code. Fiona had visited his old house, which was now a restaurant, and she'd seen his tombstone in the Musée de Cluny, both in Paris.

Atop one of the bookcases lining the north wall was a door. Fiona didn't even bother to try to fathom why anyone would ever think the thought of building a door of all things in such a nonsensical location, but she did observe that all the bookcases were placed adjacent to one another forming a trail, which conveniently ended at the door. And lo and behold, there was even a ladder attached to the bookcase that started the line. Hewie had settled on the floor next to a grandfather's clock, its metal hands slowly ticking their way through the night. Fiona climbed the ladder, balanced her way to the north wall, opened the door and stepped into a small room. The air was heavy and filled with dust. Like in many of the other rooms in the two buildings, books were lining the walls. But here the manuscripts were discoloured from years of disuse. A majority of the literature appeared to be some sort of old parchment scrolls. Fiona could feel a budding headache rising from a spot behind her eyes. No wonder, this area had probably not seen fresh air in decades, or perhaps even centuries. Lifeless mannequins had been placed in front of the packed shelves and scattered mannequin parts had been strewn into a corner. In the middle of the area were a small, round table and a chair. On the chair lay a mannequin's arm, and on the table stood an old projector. An exposed film was lying next to it, and an eggshell white screen covered the north wall. Fiona wondered what was on it and if the projector was still working. Curiosity won over cautiousness; she put the film in place and turned on the apparatus. It summed and blinked to life and the film started to run. Fiona's chin dropped and she gasped in horror and disbelief. She'd expected the worst, but nothing could have prepared her for the images now flickering over the screen. She saw herself, hanging lifelessly over the giant's shoulder, covered only by the white sheet. She recognised the huge, well kempt tree; the one Hewie had been tied to earlier. Then she had been filmed dressing in the castle's suite, in the chapel reaching for the Saturnus key and finally she saw herself walking slowly through one of the hallways in the mansion, looking anxiously from side to side. The hallway with the mummy to be exact. The screen went black for a short moment, and then Riccardo and the maid appeared on the screen. They were standing next to a number of different-sized pipes Fiona didn't recognize. Riccardo walked up to a set of three dice-shaped blocks placed on top of one another. He rotated the highest and the lowest ones, and before disappearing out of the screen, he turned to the maid, pointed his finger at her and said something. The maid folded her hands and bowed. The camera zoomed in on the blocks and the symbols engraved on them became clearly visible. The image held for a couple of seconds, and then the screen went grey.

Fiona stared at the now blank screen. Her eyes had been transfixed on the film, and she hadn't even been blinking. She turned her face away, appalled and horrified. "I was being filmed," she whispered to herself. Her mind was trying to process what she'd just seen, but at the same time, probably because of everything that had happened to her these last hours, her consciousness was mentally blocking the horrendous images. Exasperated over the place's evilness, her mind was in denial, inaccessible for the time being. And it was only going to get worse.  
The sudden sound of fabric being ripped apart made Fiona turn back to the screen. A gash now travelled transverse the screen. "Who's there?" she uttered, still in shock. Her blood froze to ice when she heard steps behind the cloth, and ice-cold fear spread from her chest as the maid appeared from behind the white fabric.  
Her face was empty and motionless, not unlike the lifeless mannequins. She swung the glass sword at Fiona, missing only by half an inch. The terrified young girl covered her face, hollered in fear and perplexity and quickly back stepped. The maid kept swinging her weapon, and Fiona kept backing until she stumbled into the wall. Fiona both heard and felt the dangerously sharp glass piece flying past her face; it was truly a miracle that it missed. Daniella's lips curled into a smile as she watched the horror in the young girl's eyes. She noticed Fiona looking towards the exit and quickly stepped through the small space to block the open doorway. So did Fiona but unfortunately for her, the maid won the race. Fiona bumped into the chair, which caused her to jump. She stood in the middle of the room, shaking, heart pounding, the insane maid blocking the only way out. The cold and emotionless Daniella held Fiona's gaze while calculating her next fatal strike towards the helpless and petrified young girl.  
"Why are you after me?" Fiona blurted out, not really expecting an answer. It was just meant as an effort to gain some time to think. "What do you want?" she continued.  
"Azoth." Daniella said. As usual, her voice did not convey any hint of feelings.  
"Azoth?" Fiona repeated, perplexed, bewildered.  
"Azoth. The essence of life, of life, of wo… wo… Woman… WOMAN!" the maid shrieked. Then her head started to shake uncontrollably and an insane, high-pitch laughter erupted from her throat. Eyelids twitching and body spasm, she lunged her arm towards Fiona, the whoosh from the glass shard piercing through the air. Both Fiona and Daniella fell forward; the maid was thrown into the room and Fiona to the doorway. Noticing the open doorway ahead, Fiona quickly staggered to her feet, darted through the opening and spurted across the bookcases. The furniture pieces were shaking, threatening to fall at any moment but Fiona didn't care. Half way through the trail, she fell to the floor. Her right leg felt strange, but she didn't stop to check. Instead she rose to her feet, hurried out the library and down the steps, stumbling and tripping down the steep staircase. Hewie was yapping and barking behind her. She raced into the crypt so fast she banged her head against the wall. Stumbling through the dark, underground hallways, she realised the maid was no longer following her and that she was bleeding heavily from her right thigh. Daniella's glass shard had cut deep into her skin just above the knee and blood was pouring out of the gap. Her right boot was covered in blood. She stopped and put as much pressure on the injury as she could. Hewie tilted his head and examined the wound with a worried look in his eyes. She had to do something to stop the bleeding. Pressing hard on the gaping cut, she limped through the chamber to the final exit, the one leading to the mansion's west wing.

This part of the cave led to a long staircase, which sick-sacked its way up to the second floor. The area reminded her of those everything-is-upside-down-and-meant-to-totally-confuse-you attractions in amusement parks. However, she did not find this area amusing at all, and, judging by his tense body, neither did Hewie. False doors had been built into the walls, some were upside-down, and others were horizontal. Chandeliers and armours were held into place by rusty iron chains. She peered into the darkness below and saw more pipes. Behind her, she heard someone chanting and humming. She didn't dare to look and quickened her pace. There was no handrail to use as support, so Fiona clung to the wall to her left, leaving a trace of crimson fingerprints behind her. After what felt like a zillion steps, she finally reached the door in to the building's west wing.

With the same muddy black and white floor, the same red windows and the bare light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, the atmosphere in this branch of the manor was just as eerie as the east section. Around a corner to her right was yet another long, descending staircase with no supporting banister. "I'd better find something to plaster the cut on my leg before going downstairs," she thought and went up a much smaller staircase and through a wooden door to her left. She passed a poster of the human nervous system, a metal cabinet and a curtain, and walked in to what looked like an operating room. The dirty and unsanitary operating bed in the middle of the room and the blending light overhead would normally have maid Fiona quiver, but now this place was exactly what she needed. She picked up a set of clean towels and a disinfectant from a shelf, turned on the water and cleaned the wound the best she could. The antiseptic liquid burned her exposed flesh and tears protruded from her closed eyelids, but at least it stopped the bleeding. For now. The smallest amount of trauma could open the wound again; she needed to heal but there were no healing items to be found and the nearest alchemy room was in the other part of the building. It would be too risky to go all the way back. She left the blood-soaked towels in the sink, washed the blood of her hands and leg and covered the crimson red gap with the biggest compress she could find.

Looking around, she reckoned that the equipment in this room was relatively modern, especially when compared to the other items in the castle. Still thought, she'd never seen most of this stuff. A glowing monitor to the left of the sink held what looked like MRI pictures. Two were of a fetus seen from both left and right and the other two were of a full-grown adult. A rack was standing on the other side of the sink. It held three white bottles of plastic containers, the type used to store large amount of chemicals for industrial use. Fiona recognised the word ethanol written on one of the labels. Next to the rack were two cylinders that contained some sort of gas under high pressure. "These aren't going to explode, are they?" Fiona backed away and hit the dirty bench. She turned and studied the foul-smelling hospital bed. "No matter how serious the illness, you couldn't get me to lie down on that for even five seconds," she said to Hewie in a resolute tone. She checked the cabinet next to the bed, hoping it could serve as a hiding spot if in a pinch. "Darn it, Hewie. It's locked," she mumbled. "And I don't think I'll be able to open it. They have probably locked up some important chemicals or medicine." However, several bottles filled with toxic and corrosive chemicals had been left out on different shelves. She examined a device standing between the cabinet and the bed that appeared to be used for measuring things. What kind of research was going on in here? Then again, she'd done what she'd come for; there was no need to be in here any more. She went out of the OR, and together with Hewie, she walked south, then she turned east and went down a stairway to the first floor.

The chessboard pattern and the flaming red windows were featured on the ground floor as well. Hewie didn't seem to like this area. His body was taut and his muscles rigid. They both heard faint mumbling further down the hallway. A couple of minutes later Fiona came across the source of the muffled voice. A naked creature was studying a weird sculpture that was on display in the corridor while scratching his chin and speaking nonsense. He paid no attention to Fiona or her canine friend. The man, or whatever it was, seemed non-threatening. However, Fiona had learned not to trust anything, or anyone, in this place. She was just as alert as Hewie was. Green plants, masks, vases and stuffed animals were also displayed on sockets. "Why are they trying to hide everything away like this?" Fiona wondered, looking at another sheet-covered statue in the middle of the corridor. They quickly passed the area and headed further into the gloom until stopped by a locked door. A wooden table stood along the south wall with a single candle on top, its flame flickering in the surrounding darkness. An enormous cage had taken the place of the north wall. "What in the world could they have been keeping in there?" Did she want to know? And who were "_they" _anyway?

Fiona turned, hurried past the mumbling creature and headed back to the second floor, carefully moving up the stairs. Her leg didn't hurt that much, but she thought it best to move slowly for the next hour or so. She passed the OR to her left and walked northeast through a red-lit passage and paused in a small, round area that almost certainly had been used to carry out some kind of experiments. Books pertaining complex formulas that went far beyond Fiona's comprehension lay on a table to her right, and in the northeast corner stood a peculiar, rotund device with a hole in the centre. She read the strange inscription. _"Synthesizer. By separating the platinum half-piece and then synthesizing it with the sacred white, a new spiritually infused substance is born. The path you are waling is ever so dangerous. However, if you do not want the sacred white to be fouled by blood, then you should give up the grand process here." _With breasts and all, it was like a metal version of an African fertility goddess. Fiona however, thought it looked like the type of instruments used by mad scientists in horror movies. The weird contraption and the spooky surroundings were, in fact, as taken from a horror movie. "God, how I miss home," Fiona thought with a shiver. The sudden sound of Hewie's growling and the echo of footsteps from the darkness made her tremble even more. Fiona heard a female voice saying her name and before long, the maid appeared from the darkness.  
"No!" Fiona said. _Oh no, not again! _She went ice-cold with fear. Hewie lowered his head and shoulders, his muscles tightened and his lips curled upward as he snarled and growled at the female housekeeper. Daniella ignored the canine; her full attention was on the horror-struck girl in front of her. She made a hissing sound and raised her glass. Fiona cringed, she was tired, hurt and confused, and now she had to fight for her life _again_. Would there be no end to this hellish nightmare? Hewie, who stunned Daniella by jumping up and biting her back, saved her yet again. The maid stumbled backwards and Fiona hurried through the red glowing hallway, desperate to get to safety. When she saw the open door leading into the OR, an image flashed before her eyes. On one of the shelves, hadn't she seen a..? She hurried inside and grabbed a dark brown bottle from a shelf. The maid was on her heels, so there was no time to check the label, but she hoped she had grabbed the right one. The insane woman entered the room and circled the operating table. Fiona was breathing heavily. Tiny droplets of sweat were beginning to form on her forehead. _If this fails…  
_In a swift motion, she hurled the bottle at the maid. The glass broke on impact and the colourless fluid spilled over her face and clothes. Due to its highly corrosive properties, the sulphuric acid immediately started to oxidize her skin. Daniella stared dumb folded at her hand as it started to boil, and then she fell to the floor. Fiona wasted no time. She quickly dashed out of the room and back to Hewie.

"Come on, boy. We have to hurry," she called out and together they ran eastward through a torch lit passage. To the north, cages were hidden in the darkness behind solid iron bars. After a couple of minutes, they reached a locked door and a dial connected to what looked like a water tap. Fiona recognised the pipes and cubes from the film. She had a fairly good photographic memory and turned the highest and lowest cube until the correct assembly of symbols was shown. She could hear water flowing, and soon after, the door was unlocked. The assembly of pipes and tubes were coated with rust and had probably been there for several decades, but certainly not for centuries, and the same could be said for the area on the other side of the door. Someone had obviously put a lot of time and energy into building all this, but why? Higher up she could see the door where she'd entered the mansion almost two hours earlier. Holes in the wall near the floor with grating over them had drained away all the water except for an inch or two at the bottom, so the floor was now clearly visible. At the end of a narrow spiral staircase was a locked door with the symbol of masculinity, or Mars, engraved. She had to find yet another key. "This is getting rather tiresome, Hewie" she sighted as she hurried upstairs to search for the Mars key.

Early on, Fiona had learned to trust Hewie to alert her of dangers ahead. Therefore, she was extremely wary of his body language. The second she entered the top floor, she knew something was wrong. The way Hewie's hair was standing on edge was definitely not a good sign. Fiona though it wise to send the dog to scout ahead first. She was surrounded by armed sculptures on both sides. Two of the warriors were holding up their spears at an angle of 45° and the weapons crossed in midair. Except for a few yards on both ends, there was a pattern on the floor of crimson and ebony hexagonal stones like no other she'd seen in the mansion. At the end of this arrangement of black and red, a statue of armour holding a bow in its left hand was guarding a door. Fiona could tell from the cool and fresh air that they were partially outside.  
"Go Hewie," she ordered and followed closely as the German shepherd started to cross the coloured stone plates. First, they walked in a straight line, and then the dog took a sharp turn left before going all the way to the right, his snout never leaving the floor. But Fiona's eyes left Hewie. Just for a fraction of a second, to gaze outwards, trying to see signs of people living nearby, like lights or a building. She saw nothing. When she returned her attention to Hewie, the Alsatian had already made it to the other side, furiously barking at Fiona, as if ordering her to get to safety. She didn't like this, not one bit. She lifted her foot to the next plate, stepped down on the dark tile and heard the clunking sound of metal shifting as the armour lifted his bow. Strike one. Fiona swallowed, her skin started to get all cold and clammy. Hewie's barking grew more and more intense. The frightened dog was running back and forth between the armour and the door. She tried the next tile. Nothing happened. Then another one. Still nothing. On the third try, the armour charged the bow ready to fire. Strike two. She could feel sweat running down her temple. Her heart was pounding so hard it threatened to burst through her chest. Hewie's intense barking grew more and more frantic. She only had two more tiles to cross. Staring at the arrow, she slowly lifted a shaky leg. Strike three. The moment the sole of her boot hit the floor she knew she had stepped on the wrong tile.

The arrow went flying past Fiona at fatal velocity, missing her by only an inch. It swept across the hall and disappeared through the open doorway. A faint, clinging sound of metal hitting stone could be heard as the arrow hit one of the pillars supporting the spiral staircase outside and it ended its flight on the floor in the well. Fiona staggered to her feet and stumbled over to Hewie. Bending down, she embraced the dog, sobbing and gasping for air. She shivered when she thought of how close the arrow had swept by her. Pure reflex had saved her from a deadly hit. If she had been standing just a little bit to the right, she would not have been able to dodge the arrow. Happy that she was safe, the canine wagged his tale and licked her face to comfort her. "Thank you boy," she whispered in his ear, stood up and pressed a button on the back of the armour to deactivate the booby trap. Probably unnecessary now as the bow was uncharged, but better to be safe than sorry. She opened the massive wooden door behind the armour that had almost killed her and entered a section of the manor that was separated from the main building, the library and the catwalk above. She peered over the railing and shivered at the sight of blood on the floor below. Her blood. Lots of it. The hairs in her neck rose. She touched the band-aid on her tight. Blood-spattered books lay spread around area where she'd fallen down. She walked left, past many shelves and another ticking clock, and went through another door made of solid, massive wood. She crossed the chessboard-designed entry and went up a staircase clinging to the wall with a banister on the other side, to an area with huge windows and a glass dome in the ceiling.

Fiona stared at the moon through the transparent ceiling, wondering if she would ever find a way out. Wondering if this was the last time she would look at the stars. Wondering if she would be alive or dead when the sun rose. Hewie sat down next to her, looking up in her direction. She was standing on a dark, round glass plate surrounded by four blocks. Each block had a different coloured half-spherical compartment on the top. From the pattern on the floor, it appeared that the blocks might be movable. Fiona remembered the stone blocks that she'd pushed earlier, which had revealed a secret staircase. She wondered what would happen if she were to move these blocks along their defined paths. She intended to find out. These blocks however, were much heavier than the ones in the castle. She grunted and sweated as she pushed them, one by one, into their right place next to the dark plate in the centre of the room. For each block that was pushed into place, crystals under the glass plate turned slightly upward and reflected the moonlight. When Fiona had finished, the glass plate was shining brightly and Fiona could clearly see her mirror reflection. The cubicles opened up and inside the red one lay the Mars key. The green, yellow and blue ones held nothing. Fiona was about to pick it up when she noticed Hewie's restless behaviour. He was tripping back and forth, alternating between panting and barking. Fiona gasped in shock and disbelief as she heard the familiar footsteps echoing through the room. The maid was coming up the stairs. Fiona's eyes widened in horror at the sight of the insane woman stepping up from the stair and heading in her direction. Her skin had already healed from being sprinkled with the corrosive acid. "_What_! Not even the sulphuric acid had been enough to stop her!? What is she, the maid from hell?" Fiona's eyes darted frantically around in search for an escape. As she was walking towards Fiona, the maid was laughing hysterically and her head was violently shaking, emitting strange, clearly non-human sounds. She stopped three feet away from the terrified Fiona, hissed at her and lifted the glass shard high above Fiona's head. Her whole body in spasms, she started her maniac, hysterical laughter again. This woman was truly mentally instable, not to mention very dangerous. Fiona was too terrified to move. Hewie on the other hand, was not. He leaped forward to bite Daniella's wrist. The attack made her loose her balance and soon she was lying on the floor, curling and twitching her body in an attempt to pry loose her hand. Her laughter was growing more and more hysterical. The dog held the crazy woman's hand between his jaws in a firm grip.

"Hewie!" Fiona exclaimed.

Hewie let go of her and walked over to Fiona's side. The maid stopped moving for a short moment, but before long, she turned her head in a rapid movement and smirked at Fiona. The expression in Daniella's eyes made the young woman freeze. She rose with a horrible, shrieking laughter, and then she spoke to Fiona.

"Blood. Flesh. Woman. You vile creature," she said as she was circling Fiona. By each word she spoke, her voice grew more intense.

"You lure the man into your filthy body again and _again._ And you are allowed to do that because you are a precious, precious little princess." She stepped closer and closer to Fiona, who in turn, was so terrified that she was close to fainting. Her pulse was racing in her ears together with the maid's insane words and hysterical laughter.

"Precious… _Precious little princess_."

Daniella backed away, her laughter now reduced to shrieks and squeals as she lifted the glass to her mouth, caressing the sharp edge with her tongue. Tears of blood streamed from her eyes and down her face. Fiona backed away and stepped over the radiating glass plate. The maid's only weakness that Fiona was aware of was her own mirror image. If she managed to distract the maid by luring her to step on the shining glass plate, she would gain enough time to grab the key and escape. She stepped back and the maid followed. It worked. A little too well. When Daniella stepped on the bright glass mirror, she looked down and let out an ear-rupturing shriek higher than any Mandragora could master. Fiona covered her ears and cringed. She could only imagine how Hewie must have been feeling. The maid was screaming with her entire body. It was the kind of screech that pierced through flesh and bone, a scream that could wake the dead and make glass shatter. Like the glass dome above Daniella's head.

Fiona lifted her head at the sound of glass breaking and saw the maid standing in the middle of the rain of broken glass. Her body was slowly spinning and she was smiling from ear to ear. She was completely ignoring Fiona and Hewie. Bigger and bigger pieces started to fall, cutting deeper and deeper into the maid's flesh on their way to the floor, but Daniella took no notice. She stretched her arms high above her head and imagined she was dancing among the stars. Then the inevitable happened. A huge piece of glass loosened and pierced through Daniella's chest, puncturing her heart and lungs and severing her spinal chord in half. Not even her artificially created high metabolism and effective tissue regeneration would save Daniella's life now. Deadly wounded she let out a holler of shock and then her body went backwards a bit before coming to rest, pinned to the floor by an enormous glass shard from the dome. Smilingly, she watched small pieces of glass falling from the sky. Like snowflakes, they were blinking kindly in the moonlight. It was the most beautiful sight Daniella had ever seen. She could feel something inside her chest, and she could feel her heart slowing down. In her last moments, Daniella knew she would never be complete, but she also knew that her endless days of hollow emptiness and self-loathing had come to an end. In her last seconds before dying, Daniella felt nothing but true happiness…

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**Sniff, bye Daniella. Well, I think I gave her a worthy ending, though. Next we'll meet another stalker and I'll try to get Fiona out of the mansion withouth too much running back and forth. And yes, I know that Fiona can't dodge the arrow, which I've always found stupid anyway. If you're standing on the side, it doesn't seem that hard to avoid. And it was what happened to me on my 1st playthrough, I took my eyes away from Hewie for just a second. Before I knew it, Acta es Fabula*WTF***

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Thank you so much for the reviews, guys. I'm so happy ya'll liked my introduction of Leon in the last chapter. I was so worried I would get flamed for that. I can tell you, he's gonna paly a major role in the last chapters of this story:)


	19. Chapter 18 Enter Sly Hunter

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - ENTER THE SLY HUNTER

Wide-eyed, jaw gaping and with legs grid locked in shock, Fiona Belli couldn't stop staring at the lifeless maid, whose body was impaled by a large piece of glass like an unlucky voodoo doll. With arms stretched out and her eyes half open, she looked like a big doll. Fiona couldn't believe things had gotten this out of hand. A miasma of emotions was stirring inside her. She was horrified over the gruesome scene she'd just witnessed, sick to her stomach because she knew she was partially to blame, and relieved that the maid could not hurt her anymore. However, this was not what Fiona had wished for, she had never meant for anyone to get hurt. "I hate this place, I really do!" she screamed out in anger and frustration, clenching her fingers into a tight fist. Her nails bore into her skin, leaving marks in the palms of her hands. She couldn't take this any more. She had to get out. Her legs willing to move again, she hurried towards the exit, but Hewie's barking stopped her. She had forgotten the Mars key. Walking back to pick up the iron-forged key, she couldn't help but notice the woman's facial expression. When she'd been alive, her face had always been her ice-cold and aloof, completely devoid of feelings. Now she was happily smiling from ear to ear. Before going completely mad, she had told Fiona that she was unable to experience pleasure or pain. Perhaps the worst pain of all is not being able to feel any pain at all. Maybe this woman had been as much of a victim of this insane place as she was.

She used the Mars key to unlock the iron door downstairs and slammed it shut behind her. She'd broken her initial rule of always keeping the doors open, and after leaving the dome, she'd closed every door in trying to put as much distance as possible between her and the lifeless maid. Breathing heavily, she sank down to the cold stone tiles. Hewie could not offer any words of consolation, but he did what he could to offer solace and show his loyalty. He licked Fiona's hand, making whimpering sounds of worry and concern. Fiona suddenly realised that in her hurry to move on, she hadn't called for him once and still, the dog had never left her side. The Alsatian was no longer staying with her just to offer protection and company, he was really starting to bond to her. She patted his fur and whispered soft words in his ear. They spent a couple of minutes sitting on the floor, and then Fiona rose. It was time to move on. Hewie had already noticed a gap in the wall. A miasma of mould and corrosion wafted from the opening. She crawled through the round hole and into another secret compartment. She used the Variatio Machina and medallions to make antimony tubes and magnesias that she put in a small bag of leather, which she tied to the blue ribbon on her back. She also succeeded in making healing items for herself and Hewie. The Quies wouldn't be enough to heal her injured leg, but it would remove most of the pain. Hewie seemed happy with the Esca.

In the corner of her eye, Fiona noticed something moving on the other side of an iron-forged barrier. It looked fatty and gross, like a clump of meat. Before she could think, the tiny creature came rushing from behind the fence, and clung to Fiona's legs while emitting a high-pitch scream. Fiona covered her ears and called for Hewie's help. The canine attacked the creature and it dissolved in a haze of red smoke. Fiona shook of the unpleasant experience. She'd heard enough screaming to last her a lifetime. They crossed an arched doorway and entered a two-way chessboard-floored lobby. Another one of those naked, mumbling creatures stood adjacent to the opening. What were those things? Fiona walked straight past it and three cubes with a scale, a globe and a microscope on top of them. Pink flowers on top of a small table decorated the end of the small corridor. "A balance in a corridor? Just one more strange happening that I don't even want to try to guess at," Fiona mumbled to herself as she passed another one of those ruby windows with ivory coloured wrought iron spreading over the flaming cranberry coloured glass, creating a mosaic pattern.

Stopped by yet another locked door, she turned, took a left and opened the door leading westward. A big cylinder with glass windows filled most of the round space on the other side. When she noticed the thing floating in the bile-coloured solution inside, her hand flew to her mouth and she gasped in shock and revulsion. She'd come to think of herself as immune to the castle's many disturbing elements by now, but nothing could have prepared her for _this. _The horrendous sight in front of her was far worse than any blood coated wall, dead body or disturbing painting. A naked female was lying head down in a fetal position. "Dear God, if I get caught now, I'm sure they will kill me," flashed through her head. She did not notice the shadow behind her before it was too late. She sensed Hewie's uneasiness, but thought it was because of the chanting creature in the entrance hall. Then she heard the footsteps. Not the low and hasty tripping of the maid, but the quiet, shuffled steps of a man sneaking up behind her.

"Miss Fiona," a deep voice spoke behind her, startling the already petrified girl even more. She knew whose voice it was. Turning her head, she saw Riccardo standing in the doorway.

"Now if you would please come with me…" He stepped towards the young woman, who responded by walking backwards and around the bizarre container.

"No, I don't want to," Fiona said, her voice shaking. "Please let me be, I want to go home," she begged.

"But Miss Fiona, you _are_ home," Riccardo replied. "This whole castle is all yours." He kept stepping towards her, and Fiona kept moving backwards until she bumped into a tube that was going out of the incubator. Riccardo had her cornered.

"So Miss Fiona does not wish to stay at her castle?" Riccardo raised one of his arms, and a second later Fiona was staring into the barrel of a gun.

She couldn't believe it. Once again, she had to run for her life, and this time from an armed madman.

She'd thought the worst part to be over, but as it turned out, the worst part had only begun. Her legs moved automatically, taking her away from Riccardo, around a corner and out to an area that was somewhat familiar. Fiona heard Riccardo call her "a miserable wench" before closing the door behind her. "Now even that Riccardo tells me I should stay in the castle," she thought. "But I'm not stupid. I know the longer I stay here, the greater my chances are of getting killed." Several pipes were attached to the ceiling above her. She started following the pipeline, just like Dr. Ellie Sattler had done in Jurassic Park when trying to re-boost the park's electric system while avoiding the predatorily raptors. She heard the humming of yet another one of those naked creatures further down the walkway. This one was moving his body back and forth, while holding his hands on his skull. The staircase to her right was the same one that she'd climbed when she'd exited the catacombs. _That_ was why the area seemed so familiar. She heard the door opening behind her, and she knew that Riccardo had entered the area. He fired his gun in the air, and Fiona screamed in fear and terror. More gunshots echoed through the hall, which made Fiona run faster. She darted straight into a door at full speed, knocking it open in the process. She spurted through the dark hallway, running faster than she'd ever done before, seeing only patches of black and white in front of her. The lactate was starting to accumulate in her muscles and she could already taste the lactic acid in her mouth. Somewhere behind her, Riccardo suddenly started to scream. Hewie must have attacked him when he reloaded his gun. The image of Hewie and a pistol-carrying hooded man flashed before Fiona. _Oh, no. Hewie! Please let Hewie be all right. _She bounced into another door; however, this one didn't budge. Her fingers struck something hard. The key had been left in the lock. She rapidly turned it around, pushed the door open and hasted through the opening. Another shot echoed through the corridor behind her, followed by intense barking. Fiona screamed and fell to the floor. She crawled up to the wall, bent her knees to her chest, and hid her head in the gap between her kneecaps. A stabbing pain under her ribcage prevented her from running any further. Her whole body was trembling and she could taste her own blood. _Hewie! _What had happened to Hewie? The footsteps came closer and closer, and then they started to faint away until finally disappearing completely. A minute later, Fiona realised she'd crawled under a table and that Riccardo had hasted straight past her.

Shock-ridden and quivering, she crawled out of her hiding spot on shaky legs. She saw the cage in front of her and immediately recognised the area. Her muscles screamed for oxygen and she sucked in large portions of air, drawing it deep into her lungs. Hewie walked through the doorway, his brown eyes gazing worriedly up at the trembling young woman. Relief surged through Fiona's body when she realised the dog was unharmed, calming her down a bit. She bent down and gave the canine a thigh hug, and then they walked back the same way. Except for curving slightly to the left, this corridor looked no different than the countless others in the manor. As she was walking back to where she'd been threatened by Riccardo, her muscles were slowly returning to their normal state, and the stitch in her side was starting to fade away. A strange device similar to the one she'd seen in the hallway upstairs caught her eye. It too, had a hole in the middle, but this one was called an extractor. She read the inscription. _Born from the swirling sands of chaos, the primordial element, Prima Materia, begins to decay and, before long changes into the yellow demon. For those seeking the next evolutionary step, stay not from the road of purification. _"An Extractor?" Fiona mused. "I know this makes me sound stupid, but maybe it is to extract things?" She turned her head slightly to the right. "I'll just push the idea that they're using it to extract something from that woman in that capsule out of my head for now." She walked up to it. The capsule, or incubator was attached to a large and complex device by pipes and wires. Fiona wondered if it was responsible for transporting nutrients over to the capsule. But what was all this about? What were they going to do to the woman in the capsule? And what were they going to do to _her_?

"It's a homonculus, an artificially created woman," a masculine voice said behind her. "_I _have created her and many others. Perchance you have already encountered one or two when sneaking around in places where you shouldn't be." Fiona held her breath as she turned to face Riccardo. His gun pointing upward to the ceiling, the cunning man smirked deviously at the terrified young child.

"They are, however, worthless," he continued. "They have no intelligence, no soul, and most of them can't even speak." Step by step, he closed in on her, ignoring the dog sneering at him. With watchful eyes and his muscles taut, Hewie was just waiting for his chance to strike. Standing no more than two feet from Fiona, Riccardo lifted his hand to her face.

"They don't have… what you have," he said with a soft voice and stretched out his fingers to stroke her chin.

"No!" Fiona gasped and pushed away his hand. "Don't…"

Riccardo sighted. "Looks like I've got no choice," he said and lifted his gun to her chest. Fiona stumbled backwards and landed on her back as Hewie lunged towards the armed, hooded man. Fiona managed to pull herself up and escaped through the doorway on the other side. She heard Riccardo yell at Hewie followed by the sound of a dog's whimper. Fiona screamed out her fear of Hewie's and her own safety. She hasted up a stair and through a narrow and messy hallway that appeared to be darker than the other passages in the mansion. She was continually stumbling on wobbly rocks. It was as if the whole corridor was falling apart. She ran straight through rotten wood, hit a table and fell to the floor together with the items on the tabletop. Riccardo fired his gun and the roaring sound echoed through the dark space. She felt a sting of pain in her injured thigh muscle.

"You wench!" she heard Riccardo shout from the entrance. "You were given the greatest gift of all and you don't even appreciate it. I can't believe the Azoth was wasted on you."

A glass vial filled with red liquid caught her eye. _Fortis! _That would completely heal her injured leg as well as temporarily making her body stronger and more resilient to damage. She removed the lid and swallowed the content. The reaction was immediate. This… was not Fortis. _This_ tasted… different. She could hardly see, her heart was racing as it had never done before, and she started hyperventilating. She could hear Hewie barking, but the sound was so faint and muffled, like he was far away or behind a wall. Lying flat on her back, cold sweating and pulse racing, Riccardo's voice grew closer and closer.

"There's no where to run, Fiona. It's over." Paralysed by panic and fear, these words echoed inside her head over and over again. _It's over. He's coming. It's over._

Fiona heard a thunderous noise followed by a loud scream, and then dead silence. After five minutes, her heartbeat was no longer racing and even though her pulse was still high, she was no longer panicking. Fiona exhaled in relief. For a moment there, she'd though she was having a heart attack. In full control over her body and mind again, she sat up and looked at the mess around her. Shoddy-looking research equipment had fallen off the tables and now laid spread on the floor. She'd seen similar equipment elsewhere in the castle. Looking almost archaic in nature, the gear was nevertheless exceptionally well preserved. The same could not be said for the room. The scruffy place looked like it was several hundred years older than the rest of the building, though Fiona suspected it was not. Another one of those weird African Goddess-type contraptions stood in a dark corner, and there was a big, round gap in the floor close to the entrance. She crawled over to the hole, peeked over the edge and saw Riccardo lying unconscious on the floor below surrounded by piles of stone. She rapidly backed away and her foot accidentally kicked the empty cylinder. She picked up the vial and read the label. She hadn't been drinking Fortis but Remedium, a brewery that boosts your stamina at the cost of increasing stress level. Agitated and terrified, she had picked the wrong bottle.

A hand written note on the floor caught her eye. It looked like the words had been jotted down in a hurry. The memo was written in English, and though the handwriting was different from the ones given to her by Lorenzo, there was still something familiar about it. She read the scribbling. _That foul beast of a dog! That damned beast ran off with the Prima Materia that I was refining in the decomposer. I had spent countless hours stabilizing the damned thing and that mutt up and runs off with it!_

_However, there's no reason to go running about searching for it. Of course, it is one of the key ingredients for creating the Godstone, but I have little need for the Godstone as I will soon have my hands on a far greater power._

_Ah, my sweet, sweet Azoth. You are so splendid. A true masterpiece. I must have you. The infernal waiting grows rather tiresome._

A dog?

"_Hewie?"_

When hearing his name, the Alsatian peeked out from a hole in the fireplace.

"Hewie stole it? I wonder if he buried it in the garden or something," Fiona pondered.

"So I guess you can be pretty sneaky when you want to, eh Hewie?" She said smilingly to the dog and kneeled down in front of the fireplace. "What are you doing in _here_, boy?"

The canine barked, and then his white head disappeared into the gap. She heard him barking and skipping around somewhere on the other side.

"Come on boy," she encouraged. "We have to go before…" She stopped mid-sentence. Before _he_ gets back. While waiting for Hewie, Fiona skimmed through the inscription on the strange device. _Decomposer. The initial step in this grand process begins with a manipulation of the primordial chaos. Deliver the Prima Materia to the extractor and the path to the Godstone and all of its righteousness whilst be known. Midway down the sacred path, if the result of one's knowledge bursts into ash, return to this location. For man is a beast of many mistakes and more fortunately so, of many redemptions, thus all is not lost. Ash begins chaos, chaos begins primordial life. Know that the grand process always begins here._

Fiona was hardly a techie so these machines were far too complex for her, but it would seem that the apparatus had something to do with the fact that the room was corroding away. Hence the rotten floor, which had just saved her life. Hewie was still barking on the other side of the wall. It was almost as if he was calling for her come, but the hole was way too small for her.

"Hewie…? What is it, boy?"

She picked up the map from her boot. There was definitely another room adjacent to this one. "Stay there," Fiona ordered and hurried out the room.

She backtracked to the hallway where she'd been running from Riccardo. Half way through, she turned left, and then another left and up a stair while trying to shake of two fetus-like creatures that unexpectedly dropped from the ceiling. Those little buggers turned out to be more persistent than the luminessants and Fiona kicked them away out of fear that Riccardo might hear their high-pitch voice. After three hits, they dissolved in a red smoke, just as the previous one had. At the end of the hallway upstairs, Fiona both saw and heard Hewie on the other side of a room that was barred from the other side. Fiona knocked on the door to get Hewie's attention and shouted his name through a small, peep window. The clever dog then lifted the wooden barrier away with his snout so that Fiona could enter.

The barred room was yet another research area. Different sized pots were spread around the floor and strange symbols and posters covered the walls. Fiona noticed a hole in a fireplace to the left where Hewie had entered. The canine was now standing next to a closed door, patiently waiting for Fiona. Research equipment laid spread over a large table placed next to the hearth. Fiona examined the microscope, the scale, the test tubes and the chemicals, wondering what kind of research could possibly require all of this equipment on such a large scale. Another one of those peculiar rotund things stood in the northwest corner. It was hooked up to several cylinder-shaped containers. Fiona's eyes scanned the short inscription. _Purifier. The impure yellow mass of filth will set free the shining glory of the sacred platinum via this baptismal ritual. Proceed to the next step of the grand process that is synthesis._

"A purifier? I've never heard of such a device before. This place is full of old inventions I've never heard off," Fiona reckoned. Here too, was a space in the centre to insert something. She looked around the room. "The fact that this area was bolted shut has to mean that someone was serious about keeping people out of this room. Maybe there is something here… something important," she pondered, hoping these riddles would not turn out to be yet another puzzle that had to be solved before she could escape. Hewie was now scraping his paws on the door. "What is it boy?" The dog appeared eager to show her something. She opened the door and let Hewie guide her.

They entered an antechamber with a clock to her right, a table covered by a red tablecloth to her left and chessboard pattern on the floor. At the other end of the lobby, she opened a door and crossed an arched walkway. The lamps lighting up the path looked like ordinary house lamps. Over the metal railing to her left, she cold see a statue on the ground floor. It was holding something in its hands, but she didn't have time for a closer look. Hewie was moving fast and Fiona was not going to loose sight of his white back again. She hurried over the peculiar pattern on the floor and went through yet another door and into a red-lit hallway. There was none of those eerie ruby windows here, neither were there torches. Nevertheless, the corridor was a mysteriously burning red. Moreover, it was divided into sections by fences of wrought iron and rusty doors. Fiona opened the first iron door and saw another one of those fetus-like creatures dancing in the middle of the area. Hewie rushed forward and knocked it over. As Fiona watched it evaporate into a red smoke, she thought it resembled what she'd seen moving in the furnace earlier. Relieved that no baby had been burned alive, she crossed the corridor to a door on her right. There had been homunculi in every one of the five sections, four babies and one adult sobbing on a chair. She turned the knob and descended a staircase divided in two parts down to the other side of the graveyard. And just like on the other side, all tombstones held the name of the mysterious Aureolus Belli. Fiona slowly stepped over to the gate. She could see the mausoleum through the iron bars. Chills went down her spine as she thought of the maid and the nightmare the crazy woman put her trough. She unlocked the gate and pushed it open. She did not intend to go back to that part of the mansion, but she thought it best to keep all doors open in case she needed to run away from Riccardo again. She heard Hewie make a sound. He was sitting next to her, holding something in his mouth, offering it to her. "What is it boy?" She asked him and accepted the gift. The dog barked and wagged his tail, undoubtedly very proud of himself. "Good boy," Fiona praised and stroked his head.

As she was walking back into the castle and through the red hallway, she studied the present from Hewie. Inside a tiny, velvet bag was an indescribable material that appeared to be both a solid and a liquid at the same time. She'd never seen or felt such a strange substance. The words Prima Materia was embroidered on the marine blue bag with a gold thread. Wasn't this the thing mentioned in the notes she'd been reading earlier? The thing that Hewie had stolen? Fiona's eyes moved from the bag to the clever Alsatian and a faint smile formed on lips. The dog was tripping ahead, merrily wagging his tale from side to side. Back on the arched walkway, she froze. Her body in full alert, she listened. So did Hewie. They heard nothing. No footsteps, no slamming of doors, no brushing of clothes or any other sound that could have been made by humans. Had she imagined hearing something just a moment ago? Had Hewie? Probably not. Despite that, she could not stay here. She attached the velvet bag to her dress next to the antimony and magnesia and resumed walking. Back in the room with the extractor, she heard a familiar voice that made her go ice cold. She gasped in fear as she saw Riccardo standing next to the table, holding his gun in a firm grip.

"So this is where you've been," he said with a grin. Fiona tried sidestepping around the dangerous man and to the exit, but when the gun exploded behind her, it was nearly impossible for Fiona to keep a clear mind. In the corner of her eye, she saw Hewie lunging forward and she heard Riccardo holler in pain. She shouted his name as she ran away the fastest she could. She hasted through dark hallways, open doorways and up steep stairs. After a few minutes of running, she made it to the operating room. She hasted inside and grabbed another bottle of acid, which she hid behind her back. It didn't take long before Riccardo entered. He was fast, much faster than the giant and the maid. When he saw Fiona, he grinned. Thinking he had her cornered, he slowly stepped into the room and circled the bench, tapping his gun to the palm of his hand. Fiona hurled the bottle at him and as with the maid earlier, the flask immediately broke on impact. But this time something went wrong. The smell of vinegar filled the air and Riccardo simply wiped the fluid from his face and lifted his head towards the girl. She did not see his eyes, but there was no doubt that he was furious. Terrified, Fiona bolted out the door. "You'd better run, you damned wench," Riccardo angrily yelled after her. He was not amused any more.

Fiona had no idea where she could hide or where Hewie was. Rounding a corner, she untied the leather bag, picked up a jade coloured crystal and placed it on the ground. The magnesia exploded in a bright yellow flash when Riccardo stepped on it a moment later. She grabbed purple orb from the bag and hurled it at Riccardo, watching in amazement as a haze of violet sparks surrounded the mysterious hooded man. From the noises he was making, Fiona could tell it was very painful. She picked up the more potent refined antimony and tossed it at Ricardo as soon as the effect of the previous one had died out. The yellow sparks proved to be more powerful and longer lasting, and rendered a shock with such strength that it was, combined with the other two, enough to knock Riccardo out for a short time. As he fell to the floor, he promised Fiona that she would not get away. Fiona took advantage of the situation and started running down a stair, through the long and dark hallway, turned right twice and crossed into an arched passage next to the outer wall of the manor. Huge columns erected on both sides of the path, and torches flickering in the soft breeze lit up the walkway. For a second, she considered jumping over the edge, but she couldn't see the ground below. She figured it best not gamble on the drop being three feet and not 30. Besides, she was not leaving without Hewie. Short of breath, she stumbled through the entrance back into the manor and hid in a closet at the end of the passage.

After a few minutes she had calmed down, there was no sign of Riccardo and she could hear Hewie tripping outside, so she opened the closet door and walked up to him, happy to see her beloved dog again. She bent down and stroked his back, repeatedly telling him how sorry she was for running away while constantly hugging and kissing his white fur. Hewie had never quite understood they way humans expressed emotions and concern, but he had no problem hearing the stress in her voice. He made a soft sound and licked her cheek, the only way he knew to offer consolation to a human. It worked. Fiona raised and with a notable calmer voice, she told him they had to get moving. She opened a door into an area with a lot of chairs and huge columns. The floor was made up of tiles the colour of asphalt with a set pattern of small and larger white squares. She stepped onto a red carped, her heart skipping a beat when she noticed a large door in front of her. "This could be my way out," she whispered under her breath. She hurried over to the entrance and started pushing the sturdy gate. It stood unnervingly still. Frustration was building up inside her. "Open damn you! Open!" she cried out in desperation while kicking and hammering on the thick wood. "Damn it!" she exclaimed. "Damn it Hewie, it just won't open," she said to the bewildered dog. He had never seen her so agitated before. Frustrated, Fiona backed away from the gate. She wasn't the type to use profanity. Over the last two years, she could count the times that she had been cursing on one hand, and now she had been swearing three times in a row and she didn't feel one bit uncomfortable or awkward about it. She was more worried that Riccardo might have heard her outburst. She listened for footsteps, but the only sound she could hear was the ticking of a grandfather's clock to her right.

Letters had been etched into the wood. She squinted her eyelids. It was very dark and she could just barely make out the words. _Pursuer of truths, entrust the accumulation of knowledge to the judgement of the goddess. The mysteries beyond the door and the secret path will be known only to those resourceful enough to forge the Godstone._

"A Godstone?" Fiona pondered. "Until tonight, I've never heard that word before in my life, but maybe this stone will open the door?" Something was irking her, something buried deep in her unconscious. She turned and noticed a goddess figure standing on the other side of the vestibule. She walked over to the sculpture. A pair of scales hung mysteriously from the statue's hand. One dish was empty, off-setting the scales. Golden coins lay on the other tray. Fiona turned to look at the door again; _entrust the accumulation of knowledge to the judgement of the goddess… the Godstone. _She untied the velvet bag from the blue ribbon that held her shirt in place. What had she read about this thing earlier? _Deliver the Prima Materia to the extractor and the path to the Godstone and all of its righteousness whilst be known. _She looked up at the goddess statue and smiled. "I already know the solution to this puzzle," she said with confident and hurried out a door to her right.

The hall that she walked into had several of the eerie burning red windows to her right, and a fence of wrought iron to her left divided the pathway in two parts. A disturbing sight met her at the other end of the hallway. Next to a locked door was a chart filled with different kinds of medicine. The labels however, were smudged out and illegible and since Fiona wasn't enthusiastic about the idea of taking random pills, she let them be. Next to the chart was a stained chair with supports for the legs, the kind of chair you'd find in a gynaecologists office. The floor nearby was smeared in blood and what looked like pus. A homonculus was standing on all four, licking up the appalling smear. The revolting sight together with the dreadful, putrid stench made Fiona gag and her hand flew up to her mouth. She quickly unlocked and hurried through the door and was back in the hall with the chanting homonculus. She quickly found the extractor and put the Prima Materia inside the centre hole. The device summed to life and after a couple of seconds, the strange substance had changed into a yellow material called sulphuric ore. "Oh my, it actually transformed," Fiona observed, somewhat amused. The "yellow demon" perhaps? Next stop was the purifier, which was located in the room that Hewie had unbarred for her. She hasted up to the second floor and put the yellow mass into the machine. Once again, the composition of the item changed, and she was now in possession of the silver ore. The next step was synthesis. She remembered noticing the synthesizer in the spooky hallway upstairs when still being chased by the insane maid. It was a long way to back track. As she hurried through the gloominess and praying she wouldn't run into Riccardo, she wondered once again why this was happening to her. What did this Riccardo want from her? Has she been mistaken for someone else?

The synthesizer stood at the exact spot as she recalled. She put in the silver ore and watched it transform into the White Godstone. Studying the rock in her hand and closely examining the crystalline structure, she wondered if it was meant to look like that. As she was walking back to the mansion entrance, the white stone troubled her more and more. It was meant to be more pure, she was certain of it. When consulting the map, she found one more unexplored room. It was near the area where that weird creature had been slurping up the grizzly content spilled on the floor. She had just wanted to move on and hadn't checked that area thoroughly enough. She _still_ wanted to move on, but if she did this wrong, she would have to start all over again. Reluctantly, she realised had to make one last stop before she was ready for the goddess judgment.

The well-hidden and dim-lit room was the last unexplored place in the manor. At least of the places that was depicted on the map. She saw the peculiar-looking contraption the moment she entered. She skimmed through the engraving in the metal. _Transmuter. Synthesizing two objects together is a task any fool could surely complete. The true sage strives to master the art of transformation and the deep inner secrets to be reaped. White is the fool's colour, as they will never know the glories to be had beyond this stale hue. The true scholar striving for perfection knows only of the quest for the colour red, for it is the symbol of utter perfection. _

She put the stone inside and while the machine was doing its magic, Fiona had a look around the room. A homonculus was repeatedly head-butting the wall. "And I thought I had problems," Fiona thought with a hint of irony. There was a desk on the other side of the room, and what looked like incubators took up most of the space to her right. Through the glass windows, Fiona could see baby homunculi with a umbilical chord floating around in a red fluid. Fiona was now sure it was what she'd seen baking in the oven earlier. The moment she removed the Red Godstone from the transmuter, the glass broke and the tiny creatures jumped out of the cylinders. Fiona hurried out and closed the door, locking them inside the room with the head-banging idiot.

Once back in the vestibule, Fiona placed the Godstone on the empty dish. She held her breath as she watched the scale slightly moving from side to side, judging its content against one another. Fiona exhaled in relief as the scale came to an approving halt, and her heart skipped a few beats when she heard the door unlock and the gates crank open behind her. She called for Hewie, but that was not necessary. The canine had already exited the door, and was waiting for Fiona on the other side. She hasted through the large entry and down a long staircase. A homonculus was standing half way down, scratching his head in bewilderment. She couldn't believe it. She was free! With good help from Hewie and Lorenzo, she had escaped the castle. They were no longer prisoners of this middle-aged structure. "We made it, Hewie!" she exclaimed. Unfortunately, their joy would not last for long.

At the bottom of the steps, she turned to look up at the huge building. Where had Riccardo gone? It didn't matter. They were free now! She was breathing heavily again, but this time it was not out of exhaustion or terror. She started following a trail leading into a dense forest. A map marked Chaos Forest hung on an old, wooden fence. It seemed useless, so Fiona didn't bother to pick it up.

The trouble started the minute they entered the woods. Hewie's body tensed and he started to growl. Fiona watched him warily. Suddenly the dog busted off the trail and leaped into a pair of bushes nearby. A second later, a gunshot roared through the air, scaring off several crows.

"What was that sound? It sounded like… Oh, no. Hewie?!" Fiona started to run panicky around in the forest. She listened for the sounds of Hewie or Riccardo, but heard only birds. Shortly after, she reached a dead-end. Though still dark, she could clearly make out the shape of a lake and a tower that had been erected in the centre. She turned, kept running until she finally heard the faint sound of a hurt dog, which led her to the injured Hewie. The poor dog had been shot in the hip and lay motionless on the ground, panting heavily. The wound appeared to be only superficial, but very painful nonetheless. Fiona bent down and stroked his fur, trying to comfort him the best she could.

"You'll be all right," she promised and took out her ponytail, tore apart the fabric, and tightened it around the wound. "This will stop the bleeding," she assured him. Hewie was most grateful for this kindness. As she was tightening the knot, she heard a noise behind her. _Riccardo. _If he found Hewie now, he would definitely use this opportunity to kill him, as the dog had been rendered completely defenceless. In order to keep Hewie safe, she had to distract the insane and dangerous man.

She resumed her marathon run through the labyrinth called chaos forest with Riccardo on her heels. She kept running until the trail abruptly ended on the top of a hill. From where she stood, Fiona saw nothing but threes and mountaintops. The fall down was long, too long. Another shot was fired in the air. A warning. Even before she turned, she knew that Riccardo was standing behind her. Perhaps he had been planning this all along.

"Why are you doing this? What did I do?" she uttered desperately, hoping that she could talk her way out of this hopeless situation.

"You inherited your father's Azoth. _That_ is what you did," he answered her, standing not ten feet away. He was dressed in another outfit now, this one more greyish, and he wore red sandals.

"What Azoth?" Fiona demanded to know. "I don't even know what that is!"

"That Azoth belongs to _us_, Fiona." Riccardo lowered his gun. "Don't you see? You are our child."

"Stop! I am _not _your child." Fiona shouted angrily at him. "I know exactly how my parents are," she said with desperation in her voice. Riccardo decided it was time to tell her why he had brought her here.

"Fiona we are... Or rather, I am... Knowledge. I hold invaluable information from the dawn of time. I am a great alchemist. I will not die. I am Aureolus Belli and I… Look at me, Fiona, look." He bent down to remove his hood. It was time to reveal his true self.

"What?" Fiona said under her breath. A moment later, she learned why this man had seemed so familiar. The shocking truth rendered her unconscious within the next minute.

"Daddy," she whispered.

"I am just like your father, Ugo."

And indeed, he was. Except for the multiple scars that travelled from a centre between his eyes and spread across his face, he was an exact replica of her father. Her breathing was fast and shallow, and she started to feel light-headed.

"We are clones." Riccardo said. "We are clones!" he repeated with a sinister laughter that Fiona had heard before.

Pain and horror spread through her body, as did the dreadful memories from the previous night, memories best forgotten. Images of the crash blended with Riccardo's insane laughter. It was _him, he _had caused the accident, _he _had killed her father right before her eyes, and he had been standing over her dressed in black and laughing hysterically, just as he did now. _Why?!_ The terror from the maid and the giant, Riccardo's revealed identity, the traumatic memories, the injured Hewie and general tiredness. It was too much for her, and for the second time that night, Riccardo's words made her pass out. A second before everything went black Riccardo spoke the most insane, painful and terrifying words she'd ever heard up until then.

"Ugo is no more. I am the original."

_

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_**Oo, this is not looking good for our heroine. But dw, Leon is on his way. Just one more chapter and he will be a regular. If you've played HG, then you know what sort of creepiness is coming up. One thing I forgot to mention in my previous A/N: the authors of the books found in the library are a reference to real historical persons. Flamel--Framel, Furkanelli--Fulcanelli, Agrippa--Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa.**

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AerithGast88 - In my opinion, it's harder to actually get hit by that arrow than just avoiding it. So well, I just thought I could use the it as a heart-pounding scene. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and dw Riccardo is still a big part of the story.

Piklink - thanks:) That death scene was a challenge to write coz like you say, it's both sad and awseome at the same time. I'm glad you liked it. And you story is looking good too:)

Arashi - Thanks for the reviews. I know, I totally thought you could dodge that stupid arrow! And yes Riccardo IS creepy. In the next chapter you see just how creepy he can be.

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	20. Chapter 19 No Privacy In Belli Castle

**A/N: this chapter is the invasive exam and is mostly, but not exclusively from Riccardo's POV.** **And it is graphic. But if you can deal with that there's a lot of intersting"facts" about the past of the Belli estate. If you do not wish to read the exam part, just scroll down to the last part of the chapter.**

CHAPTER NINETEEN - THERE'S NO PRIVACY IN BELLI CASTLE

Riccardo Belli casually strode over to the unconscious girl and bent down to study her pale, but yet beautiful complexion. She was lying on her back, looking peaceful in her sleep. He noticed a large compress taped onto one of her legs. The once white fabric had turned reddish-brown, saturated with blood that had later coagulated. It would appear that the unlucky lass had gotten a huge slash in her thigh somehow. Served her right for snooping around. He watched how her gorgeous breasts slowly heaved and dropped at the rhyme of her breathing, and felt a tingle he hadn't felt in a long time. The sweet sensation in his groin grew as he thought of what he was going do to her.

"With that Azoth, I will finally be complete," Riccardo spoke to the unconscious woman, pleased that he was the one in control again.

"You are about to give birth to me all over again," he smirked, and picked up a cloth and two vials from his inner pocket. He opened the glass container holding the chloroform and dabbed a few drops of the sedative fluid onto the handkerchief, which he placed over the young girl's mouth. The chemical could have nasty side effects if overused, especially on a fetus, so he gave her a smaller dose than he had at the site of the crash, though it was still enough to keep her unconscious for a couple of hours. He removed the fabric after two inhalations of the sweet smelling liquid. Remembering how exasperating it had been to carry the unconscious Fiona from the hallway outside the kitchen up to the castle suite earlier, he unscrewed the lid of the other vial. Mimicking something he'd seen on the television once, he raised the vial up in the air, said "Bottoms up," drained the content in one go and tossed the empty vial onto a rock nearby, breaking the glass into a thousand pieces. With a full dose of Fortis floating in his veins, he could have easily carried the girl from here to Constantinople. Feeling like he was twenty-five again, he lifted Fiona up in his arms and carried her through the forest and back to the mansion.

The Bellis had never endorsed Christianity. While the rest of the world around them had converted to Roman Catholicism, they continued worshipping the ancient deities. For that, they had been feared and hated, condemned and persecuted by the newly converted Catholics, the Vatican state and the Roman Inquisition. They had been called pagans, heretics, sacrileges and worse. The Bellis had responded by ruthless means and eventually they were left alone, dreaded and loathed by the pity peasants living in the vicinity. He walked over the Goddess of judgment and took the crimson Red Godstone from the scale.

"You're a smart one, aren't you?" he grinned at the sedated body. The sacred item was even more beautiful and splendid than he'd imagined. It was perfect, unspoiled. Thanks to the girl, he now had both the Godstone and the Azoth. And with the mutt out of the way, there wouldn't be any more unpleasant surprises. Nothing could stop him now. He had won.

He walked through the many dark hallways, ascended the stairs with ease and soon he entered the exam room. Pieces of broken glass crushed under his feet as he walked into the brightly lit room. He hadn't seen it coming, not at all. Thanks to the uncontrollable nature of his niece, he'd gotten to try on a new type of cologne. An hour earlier that foolish girl had tossed a bottle of acetic acid at him, and even though he had washed his face and changed clothes, he still reeked of vinegar. After the change in garment, he'd resumed his search for the rebellious teenager, annoyed with himself for loosing control over his prisoner. That would not happen again. Not only had she succeeded in taking her way to the old mansion's west wing, a place Riccardo had thought of as inaccessible for everybody but himself, but she had also managed to create the Godstone and thereby unlock the front entrance. Hadn't she realized that those doors, those areas, had been locked for a reason? But this was the last time he underestimated the young woman. He had initially planned to perform the medical examination on the following day, but since the girl had proved to be a lot more difficult to control than anticipated, he'd decided to do a quick exam on her already tonight and then imprison her in the most secure place on the premises. Until she had accepted her destiny, and knew her place in the Belli hierarchy, she had to be locked away. She had given him no other choice.

The examination/autopsy bench was heavily stained and smelled awful. He habitually cleaned the table between examinations, but he rarely sterilized it, though he had planned to do so before examining the girl. But unfortunately for young Fiona Belli, he couldn't afford to worry about hygiene now. As he was about to place the lifeless body on the bench, he hesitated.

"Now, we wouldn't want something that beautiful to be smudged, would we?" he mumbled to himself, and then he gently removed and folded the dress and silk underwear before placing the undressed girl on the exam table. For reasons only known by her, she had removed her ponytail and her blonde hair now hung loose around her pale, delicate shoulders. With clammy fingers, he stroked her cold cheek and forehead. Bright and beautiful, she was definitely the offspring of Ayla Belli. Closing his eyes, he thought of when young Ayla Donaldson had first entered the castle's gates twenty years ago. Both men had been taken aback by the young woman's stunning beauty when greeting her welcome. Their research had come to a halt and it had been decided that outside help was needed. Ugo had started searching for someone nearby who understood the complex biochemistry of the human cells and was able to read and understand the castle's many ancient books. Young Miss Ayla had seemed to be the perfect choice. Not only was she multilingual and studying the relevant subjects, she was also a young foreign woman. She was in a foreign land, far away from the nearest house, locked in an ancient castle the world had forgotten about, she had no one to turn to, no one to ask for help. He hadn't counted for that wench seducing Ugo. She had twisted Ugo's mind with her talk. Slowly but surely, the woman had convinced his brother that their research was "wrong", that what they were striving for was a "violation" of human rights. She had talked about "unethical procedures," "morally wrong" and similar nonsense babble. Ugo had succumbed to her spell and one day he had announced that they were in love, that Ayla had opened his eyes and that they were leaving the castle for good. Riccardo had been baffled and furious and he hadn't been the only one. He had disliked his "brother" for as long as he could remember, and the fact that Ayla had chosen Ugo over Riccardo had made him even more furious.

He moved his hand from Fiona's face and stroked her torso and abdomen. Her belly was flat as a pancake now, but that would not last much longer. There were other ways to obtain the sacred Azoth of course, but they were far too… messy. He preferred this way. The concentration of Azoth was especially high in a woman's womb, and by fertilizing her with his seed, the offspring would be a reincarnation of him, and with each penetration, he would steal more and more of her Azoth. He traced the outline of her navel with his fingertips and then he moved a bit more south. Her skin was so soft, so delicate. Just like her mother's. He couldn't blame his twin for having been drawn to Ayla. He'd many times been aroused himself when watching young Miss Donaldson take a shower from his secret peep window. Falling in love however, that was another story. With lustful eyes, he traced every curve and valley of young Fiona Belli's perfect body. Her pubic hair was dark blonde, about the same colour as her eyebrows. The same colour of her mother's… The thought of Ayla in the shower made the sweet, tingling sensation in his lower parts grow stronger and he felt his member harden. He was breathing deeper. Erotic images filled his head as he played with the curly hairs covering her sex lips, and gently stroked his fingers up and down the soft, moist tissue of her outer genitalia. He was now breathing heavy, nearly panting. He lifted the fingers to his nose and mouth and drew in the scent from her vulva. Ah…the scent of a woman.

The girl let out a soft moan and Riccardo directed his attention to her face. She had turned her head, but she was still sound asleep. He noticed her nipples had hardened, and he could see minuscule goose bumps on her arm. He wondered whether it was the result of a crude, bodily response to his touch or if she was merely being cold. The thought of the girl actually responding to his touch, even if only by instinct, made him even more aroused and he found it hard to control himself. Not here, not now, he told himself. He found an old, scruffy patient wear in one of the drawers and put it on the pale, slender body. It was almost a perfect fit. He then removed her boots and socks, and watched in surprise as several folded papers fell to the floor. He bent down to retrieve the pieces, curious to what the young girl had stashed away in her boot. The spilled acid was still covering the floor and the documents were soon soaked in it, but he recognised maps over Belli castle and the old mansion, as well as a couple of scrawled memos. Though the acid had started to burn the papers, making the writing hard to decipher, he immediately recognised Lorenzo's writing. Riccardo turned to Fiona.

"So this old fool has been helping you, eh? Well, when I find him, he won't be helping anybody ever again," he smirked, full of self-confidence.

The right boot that Fiona had worn was covered in blood so he threw them and the socks in the trash bin, and then he swept up the broken glass, puzzled by the amount of shards there were form just one simple bottle. Moreover, how could simple acetic acid etch through those documents in seconds? Riccardo quickly moved his eyes to the shelves, scanning the content. The bottle containing sulphuric acid was missing! How…? He looked at Fiona, sleeping soundly on the exam table. His eyes narrowed. When finished here, he was going to find out exactly what had been going on in the building over the last couple of hours.

Finally, he could start his exam. Her pulse and blood pressure were fine, 60bpm and 100/50 mm/hg respectively. A bit low, but nothing alarming. He suspected the chloroform was to blame. Rectal body temperature was 36.6° Celcius/97.88° Fahrenheit. He lifted one of her eyelids and shone a sharp light in her eyes. The pupils contracted immediately. He then took a pen from the desk and stroked the tip quickly over the sole of her feet, which made them both flex. Riccardo was pleased by the result. Nothing wrong with her reflexes. He then turned his attention towards the discoloured compress on her thigh. He gently removed the pad and examined the injury, his brows frowning. A six-inch, wide gap travelled from just above her right knee and outward to the side of her thigh. He didn't like how deep it was. A serious septicaemia could prove devastating for his plans. Cursing himself for not having any suture threads left, he cleaned the wound with alcohol, smeared on some anti-bacterial and taped on a clean compress.

In full control of his limb again, it was now time for the most important part of the examination. He picked up a thin metal stick from a table nearby, one of his own inventions. Sensors on the tip of the rod would measure the thickness of the wall of Fiona's uterus as well as the levels of different hormones in the female sex organ, thus predicting where in the menstrual cycle she was and most importantly, when she would be ovulating. He lifted Fiona's legs slightly upward so that her knees were pointing to the ceiling, and then he placed both hands on her knees and gently pushed them aside. He now had a clear view of the rosy flesh between her legs. The tingle in his lower part resurfaced, but this time he could control it. He bent down and inserted the pole in her vagina, pushing it all the way through the cervix and into the uterus.

"She really has been the innocent little daddy's girl," he observed, pleased to find out that she was a virgin. The girl shifted in her sleep again. He slowly pulled the rod out of her and examined the tip closely.

"Hm, another two or three days at most," he noted and put the stick down. He took out a key from his inner pocket and unlocked a cabinet to his left. He picked out a small vial from the now open cupboard, unscrewed the lid, walked up to the sleeping girl and lifted her eyelids. With a drop counter attached to the lid, he dripped two drops of a viscous fluid on her eyes, and after another "bottoms up," he drank the content of a small bottle that had been placed next to the vial. He had been working on this half the night and if the formula worked, she would now have a hard time trying to elude him.

He lifted up the girl from the table, picked up the clothing from the counter and headed out the door. He didn't want any more trouble at such a critical phase of his plan, and knew just where to put her. Walking down to the mansion entrance, he put the Godstone on the scale, exited the door and walked back into the forest. He knew these woods like the back of his palm and knew exactly where to go. After five minutes, he crossed over a small stone bridge and followed a path that seemed to end at the top of a hillside, having no idea that six eyes were tracing his every move. He walked three steps into a bush and picked out a remote control to open a well-hidden trap door. The secret passage over to the water tower was hundreds of years old. The opening mechanism was not. Insisting on modifying the entire Belli estate for research and security reasons, Riccardo and Ugo had greatly changed much of the property and equipment. More electronics to facilitate their research and rebuilding of the mansion in order to make certain areas harder to access. Ugo had been taking care of the plumbing and had been the mastermind behind the well separating the east and west wing of the mansion, while Riccardo had been dealing with the electricity as well as buying all the modern gadgets. They had been using money donated by the Nazis in the 1940's. The German Nazis and the Italian fascists had been one of the few outsiders that the Bellis had cooperated with in the quest for gold and eternal life. Though well before his time, Riccardo had always been very proud over this collaboration with such a devoted group of soldiers and their many visionary leaders. In fact, the former Italian Prime Minister, the great Benito Mussolini had once visited Belli castle. He pressed the button again to close the lid and walked deeper and deeper into the gloominess. Ten minutes later, he opened the door into the water tower, turned left and placed the young girl inside an old cage with solid metal bars.

"Let's see if you can escape this time, sugar," he grinned and threw the dress onto a wooden box, not noticing the two folded documents lying on top. She could change when she woke up. He locked the gate and pulled hard on the bars. She would not be getting anywhere.

"Don't you worry, angel. I'll be back soon," he whispered to the unconscious woman and turned to walk back to the entry, not noticing the shadow in a nearby corner sneaking forward to steal the shiny item hanging from his belt. He locked the door behind him and retraced his steps through the secret passage and back to the mansion to find out what the hell had been going on.

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Fiona's dreams were a macabre distortion of flickering images and unnerving sounds. First, she was at home with her parents. Up in her room reading a horror novel, she heard a strange noise and went downstairs to investigate. The living room was covered in blood and Riccardo was standing in the middle of the room, laughing over the lifeless, slashed corpses that had once been her parents. Dressed in a black cloak, he showed her a picture of herself as nine months pregnant, telling her that she would give birth to his son. Fiona tried to run but her feet would not move, she tried to scream, but could not make a sound. Then her college professor showed up in class dressed in a green maid's uniform. She asked Fiona a question she didn't know the answer to. For that, she was punished by a slap on her fingers with a sharp glass rod. The professor laughed hysterically at the sight of the blood oozing from Fiona's hand. She turned to her classmates for help, but they seemed to be in a trance, wagging their bodies back and forth and mumbling nonsense words. Then she was running away from the giant caretaker at campus. She hasted through the dark hallways trying to find her room, but the more she searched for it, the more lost she became. She ended up in a thick, dark and ghostly forest with Hewie. They kept running until reaching a metal barrier. On the other side of the fence, Alyssa Hamilton was calling out her name and waving for her to hurry over tot eh other side. Then out of nowhere, a man dressed in armour emerged from the three branches and started shooting arrows made of massive iron after her. She just managed to dart out of the way, but one of the arrows hit Hewie in the back leg. Crawling on all four, she tried to get over to the injured dog, but the more she tried, the farther away he seemed to become. Her fingers bore into the green moss covering the forest floor. The forest plants were soft and saturated with water, but still the ground felt hard as a rock. She was covered in blood. Whose blood? Her parents? Hewie's? Her own?

She woke feeling miserable and cold, not knowing why. She felt a movement of something soft and moist gliding over her fingers. Her senses were registering the impulses, but her head was too drowsy to process such overload of information. She lifted her head and forced here eyes to focus on the white cloud in front of her. When she realised what it was, she was filled with hope and joy, and then when she realised where she was, dread and trepidation took over and her heartbeat sank. She was locked inside a prison cell in a basement or dungeon of sorts. On the other side of the bars, Hewie was licking her outstretched right hand.

"Hewie!" Tender voice, filled with relief. The canine lifted his gaze to check if the girl was unharmed. She looked tired, he thought, but otherwise she seemed to be in good health. He nudged a set of keys lying on the floor with his snout, barked and tripped his legs to show her that he was in good health again and ready to move on.

"You saved me again," Fiona said at the sight of the keys. She stretched out to fetch the key ring and noticed that the sleeve was different. She gazed down on her body and discovered in horror that she was wearing a blood-smeared outfit that looked most like a patient wear used by people about to undergo surgery. She panicky felt under the gown with her hands. She was not wearing any underwear! What had happened? The last thing she remembered was passing out in the forest. What had that freak Riccardo done to her? Had he undressed her? Seen her naked?! Hewie tilted his head, puzzled about Fiona's sudden agitation. With trembling fingers, she picked up the key, unlocked the prison door and reunited with Hewie.

"There you are, boy." She stretched out her arms and gave the Alsatian a gentle hug. Even though he wasn't too crazy about the way humans expressed emotions and fondness, he sat still and let her embrace him.

"Thank you, Hewie."

She noticed the dress that she'd been wearing in the castle was lying on a wooden box inside the cell. She pulled on the underwear and then she yanked off the gown and put on the gothic style garment. The boots however, were nowhere to be found. She would have to walk barefoot. Two folded papers that had been lying under the dress had drifted to the floor. She picked them up. One was a map over a place called Water Tower and the other was another memo from her friend Lorenzo. She hadn't heard from him for a while and was happy to learn that he hadn't forgotten about her. She read the note with emotions going from hope to disappointment to bewilderment and then to fretfulness. Fiona, are you well? Let me tell you about the location you are currently in. This place is known as the Water Tower. That cursed Riccardo has confined you in this tower. It disheartens me to say that there are no exits left in the water tower. However, all is not lost for there is a way to "create" an exit. Somewhere in the basement, there lies an item known as the "magisterium". After you obtain in, use it at the top floor of the tower. That will open a path that connects the water tower to the house of truth where I reside. Also, avoid Riccardo at all costs. He is, for lack of a better word, dangerous. Oh, if only I weren't cursed with his useless fossil of a body, I would run to you aid. Also faith hasn't given me that chance. I pray for your safety, Fiona. Lorenzo.

A Magisterium? "More nonsensical words," she sighted. "I have no idea what this does either. But knowing how things have been going, I'll probably need this for something so I'd better check around."

According to the map, the cell was in the basement. Together with Hewie, she walked past a table of rotted wood and followed the path to an open doorway. She noticed a device similar to the ones she'd been using in the mansion to make the Godstone. Called Sublimatium Container it said, May the wise sage, seer of all, show the testament of proof to the wounded, and thus receive compensation. She wondered what it meant and if she would have to use it later. Passing the doorway, she headed for a door to her right. Locked. She unfolded the map again. Another exit… there had to be one. She realised she had no other choice but to find this "magisterium" and take her way to the top of the tower if they were to escape this nightmarish place. She turned and started to walk towards an arched opening that led into a narrow, murky pathway. "This place scares me," she whispered to Hewie.

"Fiona!"

Both the girl and the dog turned towards the sound. All Fiona could see was empty space, but Hewie was feverishly barking at a fixed point in the middle of the seemingly empty room. Horror struck through Fiona's body as Riccardo suddenly emerged from out of nowhere, slapping his hand over the canine's snout, making Hewie whimper. "Damn you, you useless mutt!" he exclaimed. Looking up at the terrified young girl, he then disappeared into thin air again. Fiona's eyes traced the area, she could both hear and smell Riccardo, but the insane man was nowhere to be seen.

"Ah, the formula is working, then." The familiar footsteps grew louder. It felt like they were circling her. She turned. Nothing. Was she going mad?

"It works directly on the eyes." What was he talking about? Did he still carry his gun with him?

"You can't see me, can you?" The next time he spoke, he was standing right next to her. Fiona gasped and her hands flew to her face as she felt something touching her chin. Then Riccardo reappeared for a split second.

"You are mine. I own you. You are mine. I own you. Muahahaha." She stumbled backwards and started running through the cellar and away from this madman.

"There's nowhere to run," Riccardo called out after her.

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**To those of you who are wondering about Leon, he is going to have a significant role starting next chapter. And I can't wait to write his part, I'm gonna work very hard to post ch 20 within the end of the upcoming week. Cheers:)**

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Thank you so much for the review AerithGast88, those words meant very much to me.


	21. Chapter 20 The Search For Miss Belli

CHAPTER TWENTY - THE SEARCH FOR YOUNG MISS BELLI

Leon arrived at the stationhouse in Digne shortly after nine pm. Harrison greeted him warmly, exchanged courtesies and then the British investigator handed Leon the case files. They had met seven years ago at the police academy and had kept in touch ever since. Since both men were extremely busy _and _living on two different continents they rarely had time to meet so they were equally grateful for this opportunity to catch up. It was more than a year since the last time.

"You have no idea how relieved I am that you're here, man," Harrison said to his friend, stroking his hand through his hair. Leon shifted his gaze from the folder on Ayla Belli to the tall Englishman on the other side of the desk.

"Hey, I'm never too busy to help out an old friend, Eddie," he replied back with a boyish grin. He was wearing dark jeans, a navy blue shirt and a black leather jacket. His light brown hair still had the long, floppy cut. Harrison grimaced. He hated his middle name and apparently Leon was in a teasing mood. He decided to let it go. For now.

"So, how'd you persuade them to give you the time off anyway, and how'd you manage to get here so fast?" he asked in surprise. Leon emitted a low chuckle, when you single-handedly are responsible of rescuing the daughter of the President of the United States and stopping a coup against the States at the same time, it's not hard to ask for favours. Leon had personally met with the US President in the oval room where Mr. Graham had complimented him on a well accomplished mission and if there was anything he could do to show his appreciation, Leon should not hesitate to ask. Not only had the Secret Service agreed to give Leon time off for a couple of days, with full salary _and_ an open return ticket to Dulles Airport in Washington D.C, but they had also flown him to Provence in a private jet.

"Ever since the incident in Spain last year, it's been _US government at your service_," Leon replied, returning his attention to the case file.

"About that, when we're on the road, I want the full story." The Kennedy report was classified of course, but as an Interpol agent investigating possible threats to international security, Harrison had full clearance.

"Didn't you read the report?" Leon put the file down and picked up the folder on Fiona Belli.

"Yeah, of course. The official part I pretty much know by heart, but I want to hear your version." He was especially curious about a certain rumour that was circulating amongst the agents about a woman in red, which had not been included in the official report. He thought it best not to bring it up now. It was a good five-hour drive to Piedmont, they could talk about it in the car. He looked at his watch.

"Hey, we should probably get going. I'll tell you more about the case and that castle when we're on the road. There is a place where you can change down the hall…" Harrison stopped mid-sentence. Leon didn't appear to be listening.

"Leon…?"

His eyes transfixed to the photo of the young girl, the American agent was completely absorbed in his own mind.

"Hey, LEON!"

"Huh? Sorry, mate. I got lost for a moment there. What'd you say?"

Harrison repeated what he'd just said. Leon nodded and disappeared through the doorway, taking his bag with him. Harrison lifted up the photo of Fiona. A lovely young girl smiled back at him. She was dressed in a white blouse and a black vest and her blonde hair was tucked back in a ponytail. Even from a black and white photo, the young woman radiated a strong, almost magnetic charisma. Yes, she was breathtakingly gorgeous. But nevertheless, Leon's strange behaviour puzzled him. Protective by nature and with a strong sense of duty, Leon S. Kennedy had always been extremely conscious about his responsibility as a police officer and later on as a special agent. He would never allow his emotions to guide his thoughts or decisions when on a mission. As far as he knew, Leon had never lost focus during a briefing like he had just a moment ago. Ever.

After a couple of minutes, Leon reappeared in the office wearing navy blue combat trousers, a high-necked charcoal grey t-shirt, black laced shoes and a tough tan leather jacket lined with sheepskin. Harrison had already changed into a black t-shirt and forest green army trousers. He put on his jacket, reported to Guillot and then the two men left for the Italian border in Harrison's car. The English detective was driving and Leon was riding shotgun. While waiting for Leon to arrive, Harrison had killed time by researching online, talking on the phone with Signora Casartelli and trying to get some sleep, but with all the adrenaline and caffeine floating in his system, rest had proved to be impossible. As they drove through Digne-les-Bains and Barcelonette they discussed the case and Harrison enlightened Leon about the enigmatic castle. After a few hours of digging up old, dusty parchments in the library, the Italian historian had managed to narrow down the castle's most likely whereabouts to an area of five square kilometres.

"Alchemy?" Leon looked puzzled, trying to remember the high school lessons on medieval history. Harrison nodded with enthusiasm.

"So the people that occupied the Belli castle tried to make themselves a quick fortune by creating gold, eh?"

"Apparently there's a lot more to alchemy than just making gold from base metals," Harrison opposed. He started to outline what he'd memorised over the last couple of hours. "As a part of the Occult Tradition, it is both a philosophy and a practice. With an aim of achieving ultimate wisdom as well as immortality, it involved the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of several substances described as possessing unusual properties, such as the Philosophers' Stone. Moreover, the practical aspect of alchemy generated the basics of modern inorganic chemistry, specifically concerning procedures, equipment and the identification and use of many current substances."

Leon listened without interrupting. Harrison continued talking. "Alchemy, which is heavily related to astrology, has been practiced in Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Persia, India, Japan, Korea and China, in Classical Greece and Rome, in the Muslim civilizations, and then in Europe up to the 20th century in a complex network of schools and philosophical systems spanning at least 2500 years. If we are to believe certain sources, alchemy is very much alive even today. In 1980, Swedish nuclear chemist Glenn Seaborg came very close to the mythical Philosopher's Stone of the ancient Alchemists when he transmuted several thousand atoms of bismuth into gold at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Unfortunately for him, the method proved to be far too expensive for industrial use."

Leon glanced at his partner and cooked a smile.

"Where'd you learn all of this, Johnny? Wikipedia?"

Harrison sighted. His old friend didn't seem to be very impressed by the mythical occult tradition.

"Look, I know Wikipedia isn't the most reliable source, but the references listed checked out," he replied. "I actually find the practice and philosophy quite fascinating."

Leon snorted in response. However mythical, complex or fascinating it might be, they were all aiming for the same thing, alchemists or not. Money, power and/or immortality. Certain things never change. Like human greed. Leon's eyes scanned the dark surroundings outside. A flashback. Rural Spain last year. On a mission to locate and rescue a young girl from an unidentified group of people. A religious cult. Villagers gone crazy. A medieval castle inhabited by malicious and blood thirsty zealots. What was meant to be a routine mission had soon turned to mayhem. Now he was on his way to an ancient, medieval castle in rural Italy to rescue a young girl believed to have been kidnapped by an unknown individual or individuals. What kind of evilness would he encounter now? He had a bad feeling about this.

Harrison interrupted his thoughts. "So tell me about those ganados and the Los Illuminados?" he prompted, like he had been reading Leon's mind. It was the topic of their conversation for the next hour. Leon told him all about the arrival, meeting the crazy villagers, the unlucky police officers, the equal unlucky Luis Sera, the castle, the island, the novistadores, the plaga infested wolfs, the intense battle with Salazar's right hand in the tunnels below the castle, how he rescued and lost Ashley Graham four times, Bitores Mendez, Ramon Salazar, Lord Saddler, even Jack Krauser. But not a word about a woman in red.

"So…" Harrison started, not sure how to form the question. He knew it was a delicate subject.

"There's this hot rumour going on that Ada Wong is alive and that she was in Spain during the event." Casually. Leon tensed and shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with the subject.

"She did?" Harrison arched an eyebrow. Leon said nothing, but his expression was answer enough. "So it is true. She _is _alive! What was she doing there?"

Leon raised his shoulders and gave a palms up. "You should know. That's _your_ line of work," he said.

Harrison chuckled. "There's easier to get information about the Chinese triad than that woman. No one seems to know anything about her. Besides, our main focus now is Albert Wesker. According to our intelligence, he has left for Africa for unknown reasons." Now it was Leon's turn to raise an eyebrow. This was new to him.

" BSAA is going to send an agent down to investigate. Chris Redfield. You know him, right?"

Leon nodded. "Yeah, I know who he is."

"Have you heard anything from Ms. Wong?" he asked, trying to get back on the subject.

"Nope," Leon replied. "The last time I saw her, she was flying away in a helicopter with the sample of the _las plagas _in her hand," he snorted. Her taunting words when waving the purple cylinder victoriously in the air echoed in his mind. _Don__'__t worry I__'__ll take good care of it._

"Hey, it's probably for the best," Harrison consoled. "The gal is smokin' hot, but she ain't the kind of woman you'd want to get involved with," he said with an exaggerated southern accent.

"Yeah." Leon couldn't object to that. For six years he'd believed that Ada had died in his arms, blaming himself for not being able to protect her like he should have as a police officer. Then it turns out she is alive and well. If what happened in Raccoon City really _had _meant something to her, she would have let him know that she was alive, if she cared about him, she would never have pressed the detonator while he and Ashley was still stuck on that damn island only throwing him a key and a _you__'__d better get moving_. Hell, if she really cared about him, she would never have put a gun to his head for goodness sake! Nevertheless, the woman in red still haunted his mind and he found himself daydreaming about her more than he cared to admit. Grabbing his bag from the backseat, he put on a Green Day CD. Harrison sensed Leon's uneasiness.

"You still think about her, don't you?"

"Yeah." Leon said, hitting play. The rock music roaring from the speakers meant that this conversation was over. Leon's last words almost drowned in the lyrics of _American Idiot._

"Every damn day."

Nearing the Italian border, they pulled aside for a short snack. The menu was in French so Harrison ordered since Leon's vocabulary in the respective language was limited to _bonjour_ and _merci_.

"Hey, about Ada, I didn't mean to stir up bad memories or anything like that. I'm sorry I brought it up," Harrison said after the waitress had gone. Leon leaned back and raised his hands.

"It's OK, don't worry about it Johnny. So what about you? Are you seeing someone?"

The question came unexpected. Harrison looked as he was about to say something and then he closed his mouth, exhaled and leaned back. Point taken. Both men chuckled. Neither felt like talking about their love life -or lack thereof. The waitress brought their meals, Leon got his baked beans and a seltzers and Harrison got served a tuna sandwich and a cappuccino. The English detective had a bad habit of drinking way to much coffee when working late and tonight had been no exception. After the seventh cup, his stomach had started to object, but his body was still craving caffeine so he'd ordered the Italian variant of coffee with milk hoping it would prove to be more to his liking than the French café au lait. He took one zip, turned up his nose and pushed the cup aside. Leon found it amusing, though he wasn't completely satisfied with his beverage either. He craved for a beer, but drinking alcohol when on a mission was out of the question. After fifteen minutes they were behind the wheels again. This time Leon drove and Harrison gave directions. He had a stack of notes and maps on his lap and a GPS in his hand. After driving for an eternity in the middle of nowhere, Harrison finally announced they were inside the search area. Though they had spotted several medieval constructions earlier, none of them had been Belli castle. The car rolled slowly over a narrow, rock-strewn forest road. It was in the middle of the night and the woods were thick, making the search virtually impossible. Leon had to agree that this was the perfect place to hide away a huge, ancient castle. They inched forward for another twenty minutes, scanning the thick vegetation intensely for any signs of lights, the silhouette of a fortress or a tower in the dark sky when suddenly the road surface changed from loose pebbles to stone bricks. The men exchanged looks. This was the first sign of human construction they had seen in a long time. Dimming the headlights, they continued on for another ten minutes, before the road ended at a huge, massive gate. They were now practically in the middle of the search area.

"We'd better go out and look around," Leon suggested. Harrison agreed. The men removed their jackets and strapped on brown leather shoulder holsters with sheaths, Leon's held a knife and Harrison's housed a gun. Leon had his gun attached to his belt. He also put on a pair of black fingerless gloves, parked the vehicle in a small curve by the road and killed the engine. The agents stepped out, locked the doors and walked up to the sturdy gate. As expected, it was practically bolted shut and there were no windows to climb, no bells to ring, no means to announce your arrival.

"I guess there's no welcome committee waiting for us on the other side," Harrison remarked.

"Yeah, no one's planning on open this door. If we want to get inside, we're gonna have to dig our own way in." Leon.

"Then we'd better start walking along the wall until we find a way in. The wall is far too high for us to climb." Leon agreed and the men walked into the forest. It was partially cloudy so the moon didn't provide much light. They had to rely on their flashlights. As they were stumbling over rocks, roots and branches, Leon noticed some mountains in the distance because the little moonlight there was reflected the layer of snow on the mountaintops.

"Hey, John. Those mountains over there, are we really this close to the Alps?

"Yeah, Piedmont, or Piemonte in Italian, is short for _Ai piedi del monte, _which means _at the base of the mountain_." Another fact he'd learned over the course of the night.

"Which way are we moving?" Leon wondered. Harrison checked his GPS. "Northeast," he responded.

"Do you have any idea how big this castle is?"

"Not sure." Harrison stopped to catch his breath. "No one really knows anything specific about this pl…AAACE…" Before he could finish his sentence, the English agent vanished into the earth.

"John! Hey, are you OK? Answer me!" Leon shouted into the black hole in the ground where Harrison had been standing just a short moment ago, shining his flashlight into the gap. But the English detective was dressed in dark clothing, making it hard to see him. Leon exhaled in relief when his friend shouted back at him.

"I'm OK. The fall isn't that high. And hey, I think I've found a way in. There's a tunnel down here, and according to the GPS, it goes under the wall." Leon jumped into the gap and the men started walking through the narrow subway. The GPS soon lost its signal. After ten yards, they were stopped by a stone blockade. The rocks appeared to be loose and with a solid kick from Harrison, the wall crumbled down. On the other side, they started to climb a ladder attached to a wall of stone. A tightly sealed wooden board prevented them from departing the underground shaft. Harrison tried to break it open with his shoulders, but the plate wouldn't budge. After several tries, he was beat and then Leon had a go at the wooden barrier. First he tried muscle force. The plate eventually moved a little. Then he coaxed his knife between the wood and the stone, prying the board lose bit by bit. It was a strenuous task and sweat was dripping from his forehead. Five minutes later it was Harrison's turn again. Their hard work eventually paid of and the cover came loose.

Leon climbed out of the shaft to the cool and fresh open air. He gave Harrison his hand and pulled him out in one go. The English detective had to sit down for a moment to catch his breath. Leon looked around. There were two open doors and a ladder leading into the immense building in front of them.

"Looks like we've entered the property through an old well," Leon noted. Harrison was sitting on the edge. His eyes fell on an oddly placed bench.

"Hey, have you seen the angle of that bench? Why is it placed like this?" he wondered. Leon's palms and shoulders shot up and down in a hasty move. Didn't know, didn't care. He jerked his head in the direction of one of the doors and started walking. Harrison followed.

"What do you make of this?" Harrison asked in bewilderment. Scratching his head, Leon shrugged, equally puzzled by the peculiar sight in front of them. Except for a massive bookcase lying on the floor, there was nothing unusual about the room.

"Why on earth would anyone place a wooden statue of a pregnant woman in a sofa inside a room filled with musical instruments?"

"Beats me," Leon said in response, still scratching his head. "Perhaps they have a thing for weird art," he suggested. The sculpture of the young woman with the large belly resembled the missing girl, but it also resembled dozens of other young, pregnant girls. Though Harrison remembered the pathologist's remark about the disfigured corpse that had given birth and felt a buzz of excitement.

"It looks to have been made quite recently, everything else in this room seems to be quite old," Leon said. The fact that the furniture was immaculately clean despite being antique didn't escape the men's trained eyes. There was something up above, but there were no stairs or any other means to get up there, and outside a fence blocked the path to the right so the men left the area and walked back to where they had entered the premises.

Back to the old well, Harrison suggested they split up to cover more ground faster. They turned on the radio, agreed on a frequency and then Leon went up the ladder while Harrison entered the other open door. Leon climbed onto a small veranda with one open doorway. On the other side of the entry was a small area filled with chemical research equipment, pots, books and old parchments. The equipment looked like something that had expired in the 18th century. A cauldron had been placed over a fire that was burning fiercely hot and a huge sculpture of earth stood to his left facing the wall.

"Yup, they sure got one helluva bizarre taste in art around here," he remarked and walked out to the hallway outside. He continued down a shady corridor that turned out to be a dead end. One of the chandeliers hung loose, making an eerie sound usually associated with haunted mansions. Not a good omen. There was nothing in the corridor except for a locked door and a dirty old painting of an angel. All the other doors had been left open. Taking out his gun, he carefully opened the rotted door and peeked inside. There was no one in the murky room on the other side so he lowered his gun. Compared to the other areas he'd seen so far, this place was dirty as hell. A chandelier had fallen to the floor and shattered tiles were strewn all around the place. There was also birdcage, a couple of chairs that looked like they would break if any one tried to sit on them and something that looked like a typewriter in a corner. Leon studied the device. When pressing the keys, the machine spitted out a thin plate engraved with the letters he had pressed. An old parchment and another thin plate lay on the floor. The parchment contained nonsense babble about "life from soil" and "ethereal guardian of alchemic secrets." It was the metal plate that made his eyes go wide. Leon quickly rose.

"That sonovabitch was right. She really _is _here." In his hand he held a plate engraved with the name FIONA. He put it in his pocket and turned to find Harrison. At that precise moment, a scream echoed through the building. Leon equipped his gun and stormed out of the room.

"John! Where are you?" No answer. Leon turned left and flew through a bending hallway. His heart nearly stopped when he spotted a column smeared with blood. He hasted up to it and leaned over the railing.

"John!" he called out. Another scream pierced his ears. Leon noticed the blood was several days old. It couldn't belong to his friend. Relieved but still fearful, he ran in the direction of where the sound had come from. Through a doorway, he saw Harrison crawling on the floor. His pants were smeared with blood and one leg had a disturbingly abnormal angle. The expression in his eyes was that of a haunted animal desperately fleeing from a predator.

"Leon," he screamed, his voice filled with desperation.

"_Run_!"

* * *

**Wow, twenty chapters already! Now as Leon has arrived things will get even more interesting, though it doesn't look good for poor Harrison(credit goes to my boyfriend for Harrison's first name, and general advice). Thanks to all of you who have reviewed so far, I can't wait to hear your reactions to Leon's part of the story. Cheers, Lisa.**


	22. Chapter 21 No Escape, No Hope

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE - NO ESCAPE, NO HOPE

"Run away, Leon. You can't fight this thing!"

Leon shifted his gaze from the injured agent and saw a monstrous creature, more beast than man, lift his hands high in the air while letting out a deep, rumbling roar. The sound made Harrison cringe and he hid his head in his arms. Leon however, had no intentions of baling out on his wounded friend. Lifting his gun, he ordered the beast to freeze.

"He won't listen," Harrison shouted. "I shot him and he didn't even flinch. He snatched my gun out of my hands and bent the barrel. Then he… AAARGH."

Leon shot Debilitas in the chest just as he was about to give Harrison a deadly blow to the head. The beast looked up in surprise, touched the open wound and stared dumb folded at the blood on his hands. Directing his attention to Leon, he grunted and growled angrily as he moved towards the American agent. Leon felt the floor vibrate under the giant's enormous weight. Debilitas raised his hands, ready for another blow. Leon held his finger on the trigger. Both were ready to fight, and either of them was going to chicken out.

"LEON! What are you doing? You're crazy. Get out of here while you still can!"

The desperate screams from Harrison confused Debilitas. His attention altered between his prey behind him and the threat in front of him. Leon used this to his advantage; he took out his knife, leaped towards the creature, grabbed his shoulder, hoisted himself up and hit the blade hard between the giant's scapulas. The tactic worked, the beast roared in pain and crumbled to the floor. Leon figured he must have struck a nerve, or maybe punctured a lung. A stunned Debilitas looked up at Leon with big, marble round eyes. The government agent stared back. Harrison had crawled into a corner, trembling of horror and pain. Debilitas tried to rise, but a painful jolt shot through his deformed body, making the giant creature cringe. He had lost the fight and he knew it. With his back hunched, he staggered down the stairs, crying out low, rumbling roars of agony. Leon rushed over to where Harrison was lying. There was no point in asking if he was okay, the fractured tibia protruding from the blood soaked pants proved that he was not.

"He is gone now, you're gonna be okay, John."

Harrison twitched. Every muscle in his body was tense and he'd started perspiring. The expression in his face was a clear indication of agonizing pain.

"Hey, John. Talk to me."

"Was that… a-a… zo-zo-zombie?" Harrison stuttered through clenched teeth.

"No," Leon responded. "Whatever it was, it was neither a zombie nor a ganado. He ran away coz he got scared. Zombies and ganados don't get scared," he explained. Leon cut open the pant leg with his knife and assessed the injury caused by Debilitas. Though not immediately deadly, it was undoubtedly a very serious damage. He was still bleeding and his face had turned ghostly white. John was not going to be able to move around any more tonight. Leon rose and checked the immediate surrounding. He was relieved to find a bed close by. He went back to Harrison and placed his arm around the agent's back.

"Come on, John. You gotta help me here."

Harrison tried the best he could, but it was still Leon who got the most strenuous part. The agents staggered into the adjacent room and eventually Leon managed to place the wounded man on the bed. A fireplace was crisply burning to their left, but the shattered window behind them let the cool breeze of the night into the room, making Leon's fringe move slightly. The American agent stood over his friend watching him twitch in agony. The only sound was the loud ticking of a grandfather's clock nearby. He dreaded what he had to do now. Taking a deep breath, he bent down and placed his hands on Harrison's wounded leg, one hand on each side of the fracture. The jutting bone had to be pulled back into place. The pain would be excruciating, but it had to be done. Leon locked eyes with the British detective.

"Ready?" he asked.

Harrison nodded, though no one is quite ready for something like this. With a firm grip, Leon pulled hard on the leg. Harrison's back shot up, and a roar of pain more loud than anything Leon had ever heard before pierced the air and almost deafened him. Then it went silent. Due to the intense, unbearable pain, Harrison had lost consciousness.

Leon supported the injured leg with a pillow and tucked the bedspread over the sleeping agent. "You rest, my friend," he said softly.

Stepping over to the fireplace to put some more wood on the burning fire, he noticed a painting of a middle-aged man with intensely staring eyes. He wondered if this was the enigmatic and feared Aureolus Belli. Then he picked out sheets from a drawer nearby and tried to cover up the shattered window the best he could. Most of the glass were lying on the outside, meaning that the window must have been smashed from the inside. By the time he was finished, Harrison had regained consciousness.

"How are you feeling, bud? Can you speak?" Harrison moved his half closed eyes and saw a blurry image of a worried Leon in front of him. His skin had turned from white to grey. Drops of sweat lay strewn on his forehead and his sand coloured hair was soaking wet.

"Peachy," he lied trying to cook a smile. It was barely a whisper.

"We have to get you to a hospital," Leon said. Harrison shook his head.

"You need treatment," Leon insisted. "You're seriously injured and I don't even have as mush as an aspirin to give you."

"And how… are we going to…do that, my fr-iend," Harrison stuttered. He had difficulty speaking. "The nearest…hospital is over… two hours away from here. And the front door is… locked, remember. We entered through… a tu-tunnel underground. How are you going to… get me out?"

Leon sighted. He had a point. Leaning over his friend again he spoke; "Just hang in there. I'll check outside to see if I can find a way out." Harrison grabbed his jacket. His eyes were wide.

"What if it comes back? I… don't have… any… weapon."

Leon took out his pistol and bullets and left it on the bed. "Here, you can use my gun. I'll be fine with my knife. I won't be long, I promise." Harrison nodded. Leon hasted down a set of steps and out a door. After a few minutes, he came back with a disappointing look on his face.

"Found anything?" Harrison asked. Leon shook his head.

"The entrance gate is right outside but there's no way I can get it open without a key or four pounds of TNT. It seems they are breeding and butchering animals on the property and I also found a dog training area. Other than that, there's nothing of interest outside." Leon picked out the engraved plate from his pocket and showed it to Harrison. "You were right. She is here. Or at least she has been." Harrison's eyes lit up.

"Then you have… to… find her."

Leon looked from the plate to Harrison and back again. The girl was probably in danger as well and he had to save her, but it felt wrong to leave a wounded friend.

"You can't… get me out anyway. You can do pretty much anything Leon Scott… Kennedy, but not even you can get me through that… well. You have to find another way out." He patted Leon's gun. "I'll be fine. We'll use the radio to communicate." Leon started to rise. The British agent grabbed his sleeve.

"Leon, find the girl. And be careful. This… place. Something is… wrong. The soup in the kitchen… there was… there was… I saw…" He held his gaze.

"Save her."

Leon nodded.

--- --- ---

Despite being several hundreds years old, almost every room in the castle were immaculately clean meaning there had to be other people around. At first glance, it appeared to be like any other ancient, medieval castle, and except for the beast earlier, there had been no imminent threats. And no Fiona Belli. Though he had seen several signs of struggle. It was the small things that gave the place its eerie atmosphere, like dolls nailed to the wall with iron sticks, what looked like human hair in a pot on the kitchen stove, dining room table filled with candlesticks, blood smeared pillars, the statue in the music room, the oddly placed bench…

He had only one more area to check out, a scruffy looking shed in the northeast corner of the estate. He pushed open the door and slowly stepped into the shack. Canned gods were placed on shelves to his left, and he could hear someone grunting at the other end of a narrow tunnel. He took out his knife and walked through the passage with his back to the right wall. Harrison's attacker was standing in a small space facing an altar. When noticing Leon, he let out a holler of fear and crawled into a corner, covering his face with his hands. Now _his_ eyes were those of a hunted animal. Leon put the knife back and raised his open hands. The terrified creature was still screaming out his fear.

"Easy," he said in a soft, gentle voice. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Debilitas went silent. Lowering his hands, he stared at the stranger in front of him with his big, marble eyes. Perhaps he had understood Leon's words, or maybe it was just the calm, friendly tone in his voice. His shoulders lowered and his body relaxed. He picked up a ripped apart doll, and like a small child, he hugged the torn fabric to his chest, rocking his body back and forth. Leon smiled what he hoped to be an assuring smile, and with slow motions, he picked up a photo of Fiona from his back pocket and showed it to the creature. He could see recognition in the giant's eyes and then the creature took a deep bow, his head touching the ground.

"Do you know who this is?" Leon prompted. "Have you seen her?"

The creature looked at Leon and then back at the photo.

"Fi-oh-na," he grunted. Leon felt his pulse rise.

"Fi-ona," he repeated, taking another bow.

"Good," Leon said with an approving nod, put the photo back in his pocket and walked out of the room. The creature climbed onto a filthy bed and was already snoring when Leon closed the door.

Outside, Leon climbed one short and one long ladder and studied the surroundings. In front of him was a large manor, and behind him were a piano and a device with a mirror in its centre that reflected the moonlight. He turned on his audiovisual communication device and called for Harrison, hoping the Interpol agent was still awake. He answered immediately.

"Hey, John. It's Leon. How are you feeling?"

"You don't have to worry about me, pal. I've taken some medication I found earlier and I'm much better now. How's the search going?"

"Medication?" Leon asked, surprised. "You didn't mention any medication earlier. _What sort of medication_?"

"Just some pills and stuff I found in the restroom earlier. It's some kind of alchemic brewery that…" he flipped the boxes to read the description. "…calms the nerves and restores stamina."

"Does this… _medication_ have any names?" Warily.

Harrison flipped the boxes again. "Eh, Quies, Sedation, Recreatio…"

Leon interrupted him before he had time to read the last label. Though Harrison's skin color had changed from ghostly grey to slightly pale and he didn't struggle to speak any more, Leon wasn't relying on medieval quackery to cure such a serious injury.

"OK, fine. Just be careful with that stuff. We have no idea how it works, how old it is or if it has any side effects."

"Fine," Harrison agreed. "But the pain is almost gone and my pulse is much calmer now. If the pain comes back, I will take more. The search?"

"There are signs of struggle on several locations, but I haven't found the girl or any possible abductors. She has been here all right, but she must have been moved, possibly to a building north of here. There is a locked door in the northwest corner of the castle that might lead over to that building. I'll check around some more to see if I can find a key. And John, about what you said earlier. You're right. There is something about this place that doesn't feel right. But at least you don't have to worry about that giant any more."

"You killed him?"

"No, but he's no threat," he replied, turned of the radio, jumped down and started walking west. Rounding a corner, he spotted a lever next to a wooden fence. He pulled the handle and the barrier went up. Leon crossed through the now open entryway and recognized the area outside the music room. He had searched through the whole castle. What now? A purple-bluish glow in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Leon turned and noticed several glowing orbs to his right. They appeared to be drifting into the dark void beyond. Maybe there was something over there? He stepped over a few rocks that had loosened from a low stone barrier and started following the glowing bugs into the darkness.

He followed the glowing, lilac fireflies through a dark pathway that seemed to be going underground. The only light besides the shining creatures came from square-shaped holes in the wall. After a few minutes, the path was going uphill and Leon noticed the bugs were flying through tiny cracks in the stone ceiling. He kicked away some loose rocks, which caused the roof to collapse, and he had to spend five minutes digging his way out. When he eventually managed to stumble out of the underground passage, he landed on wet grass and nearly smacked his head into a gravestone. He quickly rose and saw the bugs vanish into thin air. He had ended up in a graveyard surrounded by a three-story building with ruby colored windows. A high wall was blocking the path behind him. As he checked the inscription on the gravestones, he got more and more puzzled. He clicked on his radio.

"John, are you there?"

"Hello my friend. How's the search going?" Harrison said back in a cheerful tone. Now all color had returned to his face.

"John?"

"This stuff is amazing! I tried the Recreatio pills and all the pain is gone. I can really feel the tissue healing itself. At this rate, my leg will be fully healed in six days instead of six weeks!"

"Just _how _much of this stuff have you been taking, John?"

Harrison placed his hand to his chin and gazed up in the ceiling. "Hmm, two, three… maybe five…"

"I told you to be careful with that stuff," Leon sighted. Harrison returned his attention to the screen. "The pain might be gone, but you're still seriously injured. I'll be back as soon as I've rescued Fiona and found a way out. In the meantime, I suggest you try to get some rest. "

"It might be a little too late for that…"

"_What_?"

Harrison glowed. "I didn't feel like lying in that chilly room any more, so I started moving around, checking out the nearby area," he said eagerly. " And I found a room that's filled with old books, scribbled notes, formulas, strange, complex computations and whatnot." His eyes scanned the surroundings. "I wonder what sort of research has been going on here."

Leon frowned. "And how exactly did you manage to move around with that leg?"

The English detective lit up again. "I used the floor lamp next to the bed as a cane."

"You did _what_?"

"Yep, that's what I did." he raised a hand high in the air. "Coz I've been cuuuured! Well, almost."

"Are you _high_?"

Harrison lowered his hand again. "No," he sighted. "It's nothing like that. I'm just so happy to be free from that unbearable pain. Look, like I said, there's a lot of books and notes in this room and though most of then are written in Latin, Italian and a weird language I think might be Sanskrit, there are some literature here in French and English. I think I might be able to find some useful information."

Leon resigned. "Sounds good. It's great that you're feeling better, John. I'm just worried about you. Hey, you think you can dig up anything on Aureolus Belli?"

"The last lord of the castle? I guess."

"I followed some odd, purple glowing bugs through a secret passage outside the music room and I ended up in a graveyard where all the tombstones are engraved with the name Aureolus Belli. The dates span over at least five hundred years! What do you make of that?"

Harrison looked puzzled. "Geez, hard to say. How strange. I'll se what I can find."

"Good," Leon said. "In the meantime I'll check out this building. According to the GPS, this is the building north of the castle I was talking about."

Leon turned of the radio and walked into the east wing.

After twenty minutes of walking through the labyrinth of hallways in the mansion, he'd seen signs of struggle in the restroom and discovered two corpses, one heavily tortured. The hidden torture room behind a child's carousel troubled him, as well as the gruesome models of prehistoric creatures on the second floor. There was still no sign of the girl, and Leon was seriously concerned for Fiona's safety at this point. There was only one more place to check, a greenhouse in the southeast area. The agent leaped over a gap on the second level where a part of the floor had been lowered to serve as a viaduct over a pool of water below. When landing on the other side, his feet hit broken glass. This mirror, like all the others he'd seen in this building, was shattered in pieces and rendered useless. Why were all the mirrors broken? In the next room, he jumped over the railing of a u-shaped walkway and down to the greenhouse floor. The flowers came in many different colors and were constantly receiving water. In the flowerbed holding only white-blossomed flowers, Leon noticed one plant had recently been ripped out. He skimmed through a spreadsheet with information about the plants and called up Harrison once more.

"How are you doing, John? Still no pain?"

"I'm great," the English agent said with a smile. It was hard to imagine that less than an hour ago, he'd been twitching and screaming in agony. "I haven't found much about the castle's lord yet, but there's a bunch of stuff about _ethereal energy _and _the Philosopher's Stone_. Although I think I might know the name of those bugs you mentioned. They are most likely what's called Luminessants."

"Luminescent?"

"No, luminessants. They are tiny creatures that are attracted to something called Azoth."

"Azoth? What's that?"

Harrison shrugged. "No idea. Never heard that word before. I'll try to find some more info about that as well."

"Good," Leon said and shifted his attention to the plants. "Hey John. Your mother's a botanist, right?"

"Yeah," Harrison confirmed. "How come?"

"I'm in a greenhouse now and…"

"A greenhouse? Here?!"

"Well, yeah. The flowers growing here are called _Mandragora_. Heard of it?"

"Mandrake? Yeah, sure."

"Anything special 'bout that plant?"

Harrison thought for a moment, and then he said, "The Mandrake, or Mandragora belongs to the nightshades family I believe. They grow in southern and central Europe, and the plants have often been used in magic rituals because the roots of the plant looks like a tiny human. In fact, I think they're still being used in neopagan religions, such as Wicca."

"Really?" Leon stretched out a hand to pull one out.

"No!" Harrison shouted. "Don't touch. They are poisonous!"

Leon's hand stopped in mid-air. "You're right. On the spreadsheet it says that the leaves are poisonous. Thanks for the heads up, mate."

"All parts of the mandrake plant are poisonous," Harrison corrected. "They contains deliriant hallucinogenic drugs, such as atropine, or belladonna as it is also called. It's the same stuff that eye doctors drip in your eyes to dilate the pupils, hence the name." His mother had told him this after a visit to the eye doctor when he was a kid.

"Belladonna being Italian for _beautiful woman_," Leon guessed. "But why a whole greenhouse full of these plants?"

"I've got no idea, mate. But whoever these people are, and whatever their reasons may be, I doubt their intentions are pure."

"Yeah, I second that. I talk to you later. Leon out."

Leon slipped the radio back into the holster on his belt and hasted back to the graveyard. Creepy-looking dolls the size of small children seemed to be following his every move.

"I sure hope Fiona is okay," he mumbled to himself. The thought of the young girl wandering around in these murky hallways, this evil place, alone and petrified, desperate to find a way out was disconcerting to say the least. He wondered if she knew that her parents were dead. Moreover, what did these people want with her?

"Don't you worry Fiona. I'm coming for you," Leon spoke into the empty air. He didn't allow himself to consider the possibility that she might already be dead.

Leon entered the mansion's west section through a wide-open gate in the graveyard. He moved up a staircase and into a red-lit hallway that had been separated into several smaller sections by iron barriers. Inside one of these areas, a naked man was sitting on a chair. Holding his face in his palms, he was crying without a sound.

"Um, excuse me, sir," Leon said. "Are you all right?" No response. Leon tried again, repeating what he'd just said. Still no response. Leon shrugged, "I guess there's no point in showing _this_ guy the photograph."

From an arched walkway, he could see a large door on the floor below. He jumped down and hasted over to the sturdy entrance. Like before, the gates were securely shut. Furthermore, there was no keyhole. Instead, there was yet another riddle etched into the wood. Leon started to get really tired of wandering around like this and not actually getting anywhere. He turned and walked through a doorway to the right of an ivory statue holding a set of scales, and into another eerie red glowing hallway. At the other end of the corridor was a disgusting sight of a naked creature standing on all four, licking up a slimy smear on the floor, which content Leon didn't even want to think of. There was a closed door on the other side of an iron fence in the middle of the corridor. When Leon opened the door, several small, fetus-like creatures skipped out from the room behind, bouncing and dancing down the hall, jolly as hell. He peeked inside and saw several containers with broken glass and a creature banging its head into the wall.

"Man, this place is messed up," Leon mumbled, shaking his head and closing the door.

"And I thought the Los Illuminados were crazy," he added after seeing a fully-grown woman inside a big-ass incubator a few minutes later.

Leon kicked up a solid iron door and entered a cylinder-shaped shaft with a spiral staircase traveling all the way up to the third level. Deciding to start on the top, he hasted up the stairs and crossed a passageway over to a building separated from the main house. An iron armor was guarding a massive wooden door. Leon guessed that at one point, the large arrow lying in the water in the bottom of the shaft, or well or whatever the hell it was, had been fired from the bow that the armor was holding. On the other side of the door, he had a great view over what had to be the building's library. The stains of blood on the floor below hade his heart sink. He jumped over the railing and quickly searched the area. A steep staircase was descending from the library to a maze of underground catacombs, and an intense struggle had been going on inside a small room adjacent to the library main hall. Climbing up to the catwalk again, he prayed that he wasn't too late to save Fiona. He kicked up another door of solid wood and entered the dome, wondering why _these_ doors were locked. Upstairs, a macabre sight met the special agent. In the center of a glass plate surrounded by four cubes, the body of a smiling woman had been pinned to the floor by a giant shard of glass. Leon gazed upwards, the glass ceiling had somehow shattered and pieces of glass lay strewn around the body. Leon felt for a pulse, though he knew he wouldn't find one. The woman appeared to have been in her later twenties and judging by the clothes she was wearing, she had most likely been one of the castle's maids. Though her skin had several cuts and lesions, one of her hands looked like a clump of meat, and her lips had the color of raw liver, Leon could tell that she'd been a very beautiful woman. His concern for Fiona's safety grew even more. While the other bodies in the building were probably hundreds of years old, this woman had died only a couple of hours ago. Her body was still warm.

He moved down to the second floor and walked through a torch lit corridor with iron bars to the north. Though it was very dark inside the cages, he couldn't see any sign of a prisoner, dead or alive. He passed a strange machine similar to the ones he'd seen on the lower floor, engraved with similar nonsense rubbish. Just as he was about to round a corner and head south, the door on front of him opened. Leon quickly stepped back and kneeled down in a corner. Out came a middle-aged man carrying an unconscious girl. The suspect started walking south down the hallway and by a miracle, he failed to notice the special agent crouching in the shadows. Leon pulse rose, he was almost certain the girl was Fiona Belli, but he had to be sure. There was also something familiar about the unknown male. With no gun, and no idea what kind of weapon this individual might be carrying, he decided to lay low. He counted to ten and then started to trace the man's footsteps, staying forty to fifty yards behind. The suspect carried the girl down to the first floor, through a long corridor and around a corner. Leon waited a bit before rounding the same corner, and moved through an arched walkway the fastest he dared. Back in the vestibule with the mansion entrance, he realized he had lost them. But now however, the gates were open. Hasting outside and down a staircase, he crouched behind a stone railing and brought out his binoculars, ignoring the moron scratching his head half way up the stair. After a quick scan of the area, he spotted the man again, carrying the girl over a stone bridge between thick vegetation. A white canine was tracing his steps a few yards behind. When zooming in, he confirmed the identity of the girl. It was, beyond doubt, Fiona Belli. When zooming in on the suspect, Leon's heart nearly stopped. Wasn't this…? Impossible! The man disappeared behind a bush, and Leon hasted into the forest. He was too late. After passing the bridge, he came just in time to watch the trapdoor to an underground passage go down, nearly snapping of an animal's white tale in the process. He tried to open the lid, but it was stuck. The suspect was most likely taking the girl to a tower in the middle of a lake nearby. Taking out the binoculars again, he scanned the surroundings. There were no signs of a bridge or a boat anywhere along the lakeside.

"Great!" Leon nearly spitted out the word. He removed the binoculars.

"What now?"

--- --- ---

For the seventh time in half an hour, Fiona crawled out from a makeshift hiding spot behind a stack of barrels in the basement of the water tower. Or maybe it was the eight. She had lost count. Her legs were shaking, and she had been throwing up. She had tried to escape the water tower again and again, but it was hopeless. The cramp in her stomach resurfaced and her upper body jerked forward. It felt like her insides was coming up as she gagged and spitted up drops of bile. The green fluid mixed with saliva and snot. A tear ran down her chin. She wiped it away with her sleeve. Her head spinning, she sank down against one of the barrels. She tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry and her oesophagus was burning. Hewie sat down next to the exhausted girl, gently licking her face. She thought she had found the _magisterium_, but there was a large gap in the pathway above, and in order to cross this gaping hole and get to the top of the tower, she would have to pull a lever on the third floor. But _he _was always around, following her every move, stopping her from pulling that handle. She could sense him, hear and smell him, feel his breath on her skin, but she never saw him except for when he did sudden, jerking movements. Suddenly Hewie tensed. With every muscle in his canine body going rigid, he started sneering at a point in front of him. The sneer developed into a deep, guttural growl, and then turned into intense barking. Fiona lifted her head. Though she saw no one, she recognised the footsteps. And the smell. When Riccardo stopped walking, she estimated he was about four feet from where she was sitting. A familiar chuckle filled the void in front of her.

"You are quite a troublesome, young girl," he sighted, and Fiona could picture him shaking his head. She wanted to run, but her feet refused to move. Instead, she tried to crawl. The chuckle turned to sinister laughter.

"Why do you keep trying, Fiona?" Calm. Full of self-confidence. "There's nowhere to run, no place to hide. You can might as well give up and accept your destiny. _You_ _are_ going to give birth to me."

The words hit Fiona like a blow to the stomach. She stopped crawling.

"_What?!_"

"I will be born again!" His form appeared before Fiona, and she gasped in dread as he yanked his gun out from his hooded sweater and aimed it at the barking canine.

"Get that mutt to shut up!" he barked. Fiona wondered if the sudden rage and the unexpected mood swings were a result of his emotionally unstable character, or if it was a part of a cunning plan to mentally break her down. The semi-transparent man locked his gaze on the girl.

"I mean it, Fiona," he said, his voice all calm again. Looking at Hewie, the young woman shook her head. "No, Hewie," she whispered. The dog went silent but his brown eyes never left the sinful creature that had once been his master. Riccardo nodded approvingly.

"Good Fiona," he smirked, still aiming his pistol at Hewie. "And from now on, you'll do as _I_ say. If you would just lend me your womb, I'll let you both live, defy me once more, and I'll blow the mutt's head of," he warned. Fiona's eyes widened in shock. She could not believe what he was asking of her, this man that looked exactly like her father, walked like him, sounded like him, but still was nothing like him at all. _This_ man had no heart.

"Let me into your womb, or the dog dies! Answer me! _Now."_

Fiona looked into Hewie's brown eyes and saw love, devotion and concern. The dog was ready to die for her. Knowing she had no choice, she turned to the barely visible being in front of her.

"Okay," she nodded. "I'll do whatever you say, just don't hurt Hewie, please," she begged.

Riccardo sniggered. An evil grin crept over his scarred face.

"Good girl."

Her stomach turned.

* * *

**Leon is in Belli castle, how awesome=D And since Leon is an American I'm writing his part of the story with American English. And well, I tried to give this chapter a Resident Evil 4 feel. About the Mandragora, an eye doctor dripped belladonna in my eyes one time and it sucked. From the movie _Perfect Stranger_ starring Bruce Willis and Haller Berry I learned that atropine and belladonna is the same and their effect on the body, and when I found out that this is the main toxin in the Mandragora plant, I just had to use it in the story. Atropine is also the stuff Nicolas Cage's character had to inject into his heart to avoid a horrible death by nerve gas poisoning in Michael Bay's high-octane action movie _The Rock_.**

**Because of the holidays coming up, there will be no more updates before Christmas. But I'll keep writing and I'll try to post the next chapter sometime between Christmas and New Year. I wish everyone a happy holiday and chapter 22 wil be up between Dec. 26th and Jan. 1st. As always, thanks for the reviews. Cheers:D**


	23. Chapter 22 From the WT to the HOT

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO - FROM THE WT TO THE HOUSE OF TRUTH

The sound of water drops hitting the basement floor echoed through the narrow pathway. The pipes inside the water tower had rusted long time ago and water was leaking everywhere. In Fiona's ears, the noise was almost deafening.

"Come with me, Fiona," Riccardo encouraged. He stretched out his arm and moved his fingers so that Fiona could see him, but the poor child was scared stiff and couldn't move a muscle. Riccardo sighted. Though he was barely visible, Fiona could tell that his patience was about to run out.

"It's over Fiona," he said moving closer to the terrified young woman. "Take my hand and come with me _now_," he ordered.

It happened so fast. Within a blink of an eye, Riccardo went from being the one in charge with full control over the situation, to staggering over the floor and screaming in shock and pain. With big eyes and open jaw, he stared at the knife protruding from his blood-smeared palm, and he had to lean against the wall for a moment. The unexpected event had made him drop his gun. Fiona's body was clenched against the barrels. Hewie had started barking again. Riccardo's nostrils widened. Breathing heavily, he instinctively pressed hard on his wrist to limit the blood flow to his wounded hand.

"You leave her alone!"

Three heads turned. Riccardo was half expecting to see a young Lorenzo, but the man emerging from the darkness, dressed in blue and grey, was a complete stranger. An American. Who was this intruder, and how had he managed to find this place? Knowing he had lost control over the situation, Riccardo thought it best to retreat. He yanked the knife out of his hand, threw it at the stranger who easily dodged the flying weapon. Then he leaped over the floor, snatched his gun and ran down the tunnel, completely ignoring the blood oozing from his injured hand.

"Stop!" Leon called out and started chasing him. A minute later, he walked back to Fiona and the canine, his chin pointing downwards. He couldn't believe he'd been outrunned by a middle-aged man. The suspect had had a good twenty yards head start, but still… It was like he'd been on speed or something. He'd escaped through a door at the end of the pathway and locked it behind him, probably by electronic means. He would deal with him later. He'd finally found the missing girl. Getting her, and John, to safety was now his utmost priority.

Barefoot and with legs tucked up against her chest, Fiona was still sitting on the cold and moist floor when Leon returned. Her canine companion was sniffing the air and tilting his head, as if trying to place Leon amongst the good or the bad. The government agent raised his open palms and slowly moved towards the frightened girl, trying to look as non-threatening as possible.

"Fiona," he said in a soft and reassuring tone. "He's gone, you're safe now. Everything is going to be all right. My name is Leon. I'm here to take you home."

Fiona's blue eyes were glued to the stranger in front of her, but she said nothing. A million questions were burning inside him, but at this point, Fiona was in no condition to be interrogated. The poor girl was trembling of horror and cold and Leon could only imagine what she'd been through these last twenty-four hours. Being bombarded with questions was the last thing she needed right now. He carefully stepped up to the shivering figure and crouched down next to her. Fiona's body flinched. Leon raised his hands and backed away a little.

"Calm down, Fiona. I'm not gonna hurt you."

He removed his jacket and put it over the young woman's shoulders. The watchful Alsatian didn't object, but he was prepared to act at any moment. Leon asked only the most important question. The rest would have to wait.

"Are you unharmed?" He spotted a compress on her right thigh and frowned. "Have they hurt you in any way?"

Her gaze held, but she offered no response. It was like she was in shock or something. On his last rescue mission, he'd immediately gained the abducted girl's trust. This time however, it wouldn't be so easy. Fiona's eyes darted to the white German Shepherd, who was busy sniffing Leon's pant leg.

"Hi there, buddy," Leon said to the canine and let the animal's snout travel over his fingertips. The Alsatian barked and then he started wagging his tail happily from side to side. Leon could've sworn he saw a glimpse of recognition in his friendly, brown eyes. The girl seemed to be a bit more relaxed now, as the German Shepherd had accepted him. He stroked the animal's white fur and scratched his ears. In response, the canine licked his jaw.

Leon laughed. "Is this your dog?" he asked. "What's his name?"

Fiona's lips parted. Her mouth was shaking.

"Hewie," she stuttered. "His name… is… Hewie."

"Hewie, what a nice name," he said while playing with the German Shepherd. "Hi there, Hewie."

Fiona exhaled and her shoulders dropped. Pulling Leon's jacket tight around her small figure, she once again locked eyes with the young American.

"Thank… you."

---

Leon offered a quick smile as response. Anxious to deliver the good news to Harrison, he unhooked the radio from his belt and switched it on. He was about to announce that he'd _succeeded in extricating the subject,_ but the pale young woman looking at him with her almond-shaped, stunningly beautiful ocean-blue eyes made him hesitate. He couldn't bring himself to refer to her as simply a _subject_. And what the hell, this was John he was talking to, not Hunnigan. Screw the etiquette. His index finger pressed the 'speak' button.

"John, I've found her, alive and in one piece."

"Jolly good work, mate," his companion replied with a cheerful tone. Fiona's brows rose upon hearing the English accent.

"Now stay where you are. We'll be with you in no time," Leon said before clicking off.

"That was my partner, John," he explained while rising to his feet. He then offered his hand to Fiona.

"The door at the end of this trail is locked so we have to find another way out of here."

"But… how did _you_ cross the lake?" she asked in bewilderment.

"With a tree trunk," Leon replied. "And with a branch as an oar. But the thing was wobbly as hell and I almost fell in the water more times than I can count. There's no way I can use it to get you two safely across the lake."

Fiona stuck her hand inside Leon's jacket and fished out two pieces of torn, yellowish paper that she'd hidden under her dress and handed them over to Leon.

"It's a map of the building and instructions on how to get out of here," she explained. "From someone named Lorenzo. He has been helping me through… this…_ nightmare_."

Leon read the note and studied the map. "Have you met this Lorenzo?"

"No, but I have received several notes from him with tips on how to… proceed. I think he lives in the house over there." She was pointing on a spot on the wall behind her. Leon remembered seeing a building near the lakeside when he'd climbed of the tree trunk.

"You have any idea what this _magisterium_ is?"

Fiona disappeared behind a stack of barrels and returned with three items, a small bronze statue, a silver disc and a minuscule model of a wooden bridge.

"It has to be one of these three. There is nothing else down here. I have searched everywhere."

Leon sighted. Then they would have to bring all three with them. He picked up his blood-smeared knife and put the tiny items inside a brown leather bag attached to his belt. The attaché case was meant to carry handgun bullets and was quite small. There were barely enough room for all three items. "Why can't these people use normal words?" he wondered to himself. Even the few English written notes around here were packed with nonsense rubbish.

They started walking through the hallway and up a set of small stairways. Leon walked first to make sure it was safe to proceed, and then Fiona and Hewie followed a couple of steps behind. Fiona was constantly turning her head to look anxiously over her shoulder. Leon noted her tense body language. When they reached the first floor, they stopped next to a sink where Leon washed dried blood of his knife and Fiona splashed some cold water on her face. "I must look awful," she thought to herself, wishing she could freshen up a bit. The huge door to their right where Leon had entered fifteen minutes earlier was still open. They walked straight past it, since they both knew that the path on the other side didn't lead anywhere and instead, they started ascending a coiled pathway. Green moss covered the wall to their right, and seaweed hung from a round centred portion above. Fiona studied the man in front of her. Of course she was wondering who he and his partner were, which agency they represented, how they had found her, and a zillion other things, but the enormous relief of finally being rescued had won over the curiosity. But there was one thing she had to know right away.

"Leon?" she said. The agent turned, but didn't stop walking. "Where are we? Where _is _this place?"

"Italy," he responded. "In a region called Piedmont. It's about a tree hour drive to Turin from here."

Fiona felt uneasy. Italy, she'd already figured _that_ much, but this area was more isolated than she'd thought. Even if she _had _managed to run away from Riccardo, she would most likely have ended up wandering aimlessly around in the thick forest for days before collapsing of hunger, or dying of hypothermia. Whoever this American was, she was extremely grateful that he was there with them. She would learn his role in this soon enough. All she wanted now was to get home as soon as possible.

"Look, a part of the path is missing." Fiona pointed straight ahead. "That is why I couldn't reach the top floor." The gap in the walkway was about teen feet in length. Leon thought he might be able to jump over it, but Fiona and Hewie could certainly not. His eyes quickly scanned the area.

"We can proceed if we pull that handle over there," he said, gazing upwards.

"Yes I know. I tried several times, but… _he_ stopped me every time."

Leon was curious about who this '_he_' was, and what Fiona knew about him, but he feared that if he started asking questions about the man that looked so much like her father, she would crawl back into her protective shell again. He couldn't afford losing her confidence now as she had just started to open up to him. He would have to choose his word carefully.

"He's not here now," Leon said to her, trying to hold his tone as neutral as possible.

"No, not now, but he will come back," Fiona replied. "I-I know he will."

"Maybe. But then we have to make sure we're not here when he shows up." Leon pulled the lever and the portion below them moved 90° against the clock. They could now continue on to the top.

Two floors later, Leon spotted another gap in the walkway higher up, and he headed up a side path to pull another handle. Fiona and Hewie followed close behind. She asked him if he knew anything about her aunts. Ayla Belli's two sisters and their demented mother were now the only family that Fiona had left. _What had John said again?_

"They're fine, but they are worried about you and want you home again as soon as possible," he replied.

Fiona swallowed. "Leon. Do you really think we can… escape from this place?"

Leon pulled the lever and the section above shifted. "We're gonna get out all right. _He_ got you into this mess, and I'm going to get you out of it."

It had worked on Ashley, but Fiona didn't look convinced. She lowered her head. "I know what happened… to mum and dad," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Leon inhaled deeply. An image of his own mother and father appeared in his mind. He wanted to say something to her that would make the sorrow and hollow emptiness she was feeling go away. But he knew there was nothing he could say, or do, to relieve her of the excruciating pain of loosing your loved ones. This was one of those rare occasions where Leon S. Kennedy was completely helpless.

"Fiona, I'm so sorry…"

Fiona interrupted him. "I was… there," she stuttered. Her lips had started trembling again. "In the car. He… _he_ killed my fa…my fa…"

Leon grabbed her shoulders. "Fiona, _he_ _will not _get away with this. He is going to pay for what he did. To you _and_ your parents. I'll make sure of it. I promise."

The determination in Leon's voice calmed Fiona down. Her azure eyes stared intensely into his steel grey. Her soft, blonde curls mixed with the sheepskin on his jacket. On her, it was more like an over-sized coat. The young girl was still in her teens, but in her deep blue eyes, he saw wisdom and insight he'd never seen in anyone under the age of 30. She looked heartbroken and exhausted, her lips were colorless and her skin was almost translucent. Still, she was the most beautiful woman Leon had ever laid eyes on.

Fiona eventually responded, and after a deep breath, she was calm and composed again. Leon was amazed. Such a fighter but still so vulnerable, so strong-willed and yet so fragile. To say that she fascinated him was an understatement. He'd never met _anyone_ like her before.

Up on the sixth level, purple glowing bugs were dancing around the centre plate. Leon didn't think much of it until he noticed Fiona's strange reaction. With an 'oh shit' expression on her face, she hesitated, and then she carefully stepped towards the center part. The bugs immediately responded to her presence, and they were gradually gliding through the open space in Fiona's direction. The young girl started walking backwards against the wall and the glowing orbs followed. Leon watched closely. After a few more steps, she cleverly dodged the luminessants by quickly darting to the other side of the walkway and hasting forward. She seemed to be very anxious to get over to the other side, and she even called out for Leon to hurry. The American agent looked a question at her.

"They're drawn to me," she said over her shoulder. Leon still looked like a question mark and opened his mouth to speak. Fiona's eyes begged him not to ask.

A high-pitched sound pierced their ears as they entered the seventh floor. Hewie tensed, clearly uncomfortable with the place and the sharp noise. On the floor, a thick metal frame encircled a gigantic map of the solar systems, constellations and numerous occult symbols on an azure background. Different shaped and colored gearwheels were attached to a certain area on the surrounding wall. Leon picked up the silver disc and they studied the plate. Fiona recognized most of the constellations, but there were no planets engraved on the disc.

"Let's have a look around," Leon suggested.

They walked on the metal edge alongside the planetary alignment. Leon stopped next to an engraved meal plate radiating blue letters. The writing was in Old Italian. Fiona translated without too much problems. _All life on the surface of the planet stretches out below the star's radiant light. All of the events played out on the surface of the planet are coloured by the star's never-ending travels. The true miracle will only occur when the stars that guide universal destiny are linked as one. The planets have been arranged in the following order from the outside in: Saturnus, Jupiter, Mars, Sol, Venus, Mercury and Luna. All of the planets revolve around the centre of the universe, the great planet Tierra. Begin the celestial chain from the furthest edge of the universe, Saturnus. However the path to enlightenment is not singular in nature. Proceed forward with alternate routes in mind. _

"Great. Another riddle." Fiona thought it Leon said it aloud. "Saturnus…"

Fiona found the Saturnus symbol on a blue sphere on the other side of the alignment. Putting weight on the symbol made another blue sphere lit up, but as soon as she stepped off, the light vanished. Stepping on it again, Leon walked over to the shining orb while Fiona stood still on the Saturnus symbol. A third sphere blinked to life and Fiona hasted over to it. A fourth planet lit up, and Hewie, who had figured out what they were trying to do, sat down on the glowing sphere. They continued doing so until the eight and last orb, the Earth, lit up. Leon stepped on the sphere, then Fiona and finally Hewie. Standing in the middle of the assembly, the trio watched how the sun, moon and planets assemble in a straight line with the Earth in the middle. The floor started shaking as a spiral staircase with black railing slowly descended from the ceiling with a deep, crushing sound. Leon grabbed Fiona's arm and they moved away from the planetarium. While Leon had his full attention on the lowering staircase, Fiona gazed up at him and allowed herself a good look at the American agent. She studied his jaw line, his slightly crooked nose and his floppy haircut and she instinctively drew a hand through her hair. Her eyes lowered to his torso an abdomen. Judging by his figure, he was in a very good shape, and he probably did exercise every day. She tucked a curl behind her ear and removed the hand from her unwashed hair. Her cheeks prickled and her palms felt clammy. She could really have used a shower right now. And soap. And a brush and a hair dryer. Maybe some makeup as well. Then the stair settled and Fiona's sudden self-consciousness about her appearance vanished.

In front of them was the entryway to the top of the water tower and Fiona lit up in a big smile. A thousand butterflies went flying in Leon's stomach. A sudden, overwhelming and totally unexpected sensation, a feeling that Leon had completely forgotten about. However, this was neither the time nor the place for a crush. If he let his feelings take control of his mind, the consequences could be fatal for everyone involved. He had to stay emotionally neutral and focus on the mission. He shook it off, walked to the staircase and told Fiona and Hewie to follow. They went up the stair, through a door an out to a small, circular balcony. The view was great, there was a large building travelling along the lakeside and they could see one of the castle's towers, but there were only thick forest and mountains in the horizon. On the other side was a minuscule diorama of the nearby area with the tower, the lake and the nearby building made out of wood. The _magisterium_ could only be the miniature bridge. Leon fished out the wooden miniature and placed it between the tower and the house. Again, the ground started shaking, but this time more violent, like an earthquake. Stepping over to the edge, they saw a bridge emerging from the water.

"Let's get down so we can leave this bloody tower," Leon said. Fiona and Hewie couldn't have agreed more.

The trio ran to the other side of the balcony where Leon and Hewie came to an abrupt halt. The agent shot out his hand to stop Fiona and they stepped two steps back. Leon removed the knife out of its sheath and Hewie started barking. Fiona's eyes flickered nervously around while Leon and Hewie's gaze held firmly on the door. They were obviously seeing something she didn't. Fiona's heart dropped.

"She's mine. I won't let you take her away!"

"Sorry to have to disappoint you, but Fiona is coming with me," Leon replied cooly to the male suspect blocking the door. His clothes were full of blood and he was holding a large sheath in his hand. Leon's eyes narrowed as he locked gaze with the smirking bastard. Fiona was shivering behind him. He could tell the young girl was terrified. The man in front of him removed a massive, double-bladed sword from its holster. The two blades had been intertwined and appeared as one.

"Fiona, step back!" Leon ordered. The petrified girl quickly backed and almost tripped over the balcony railing. Her heart nearly stopped, and the shock caused her to fall to the ground. The short wall was in a terrible state and several stones had loosened. It was a true miracle that she hadn't fallen off the edge. She raised her head and saw the shape of Riccardo swinging something at Leon, who quickly dodged the attack. His outfit was smeared in blood from when Leon had impaled his hand with the knife. Holding what looked like a sword, he was using his wounded hand as if nothing had happened. Fiona gasped. The double-bladed sword. The very same one he had…

Suddenly Hewie was next to her and the girl and the canine backed away from the fight. Riccardo took another swing and Leon elegantly moved out of the blade's path. It was quite obvious that he'd been in this kind of situation before. Determined not to give up, Riccardo attacked once again, but this time with his fists. Leon's knife cut his arm and fresh blood oozed down his sleeve. Taking no notice, Riccardo hit Leon hard in the stomach and Leon stumbled backwards. It was as if he'd gotten superhuman strengths all of a sudden. Riccardo stood over the government agent and raised his sword, ready to pierce through his heart. Fiona hurried over to the attaché case and picked up the two remaining items. Leon was using his knife to hold the sword back. He wouldn't last long. Leon might be better trained, but Riccardo had a much more powerful weapon. The bronze figure was heavier. She hurled it at Riccardo and hit his head. The brief distraction gave Leon the perfect opportunity to kick Riccardo away. Relief surged through Fiona's body.

"Leon, are you…"

"Run Fiona!"

"What?"

"Take the dog with you and run over to the house. Wait for me there."

"But I…"

"Fiona, NOW!"

---

Fiona did as he said and together with Hewie, she ran around the balcony and into the tower. Leon held his knife ready combat style and watched Riccardo rise to his feet.

"Who are you and what do you want with Fiona?" he called out.

Riccardo chuckled. "_I_… am… Riccardo Belli." For each word he spoke, he took one step closer to Leon.

"The girl is mine. She belongs to me. She will make me… _complete_."

Leon stepped back. Not because he feared a confrontation, but because he wanted him to keep talking. He wanted Riccardo to reveal as much as possible, and for that to happen, he had to provoke him. The resemblance to Ugo Belli was striking.

"You kidnapped Fiona and killed her parents. You murdered your own brother."

Riccardo started laughing. "Young man, you really have no idea what is going on, do you? And you have no business of being here. You've trespassed private property and you're now going to pay with your life."

Leon raised one brow. How could he be so cold? "You're telling me Ugo Belli is not your twin brother?"

Riccardo stopped. "If you absolutely must know, Ugo and I are clones, reincarnations of Aureoles Belli, the greatest alchemist who have ever lived."

"And you're expecting me to believe that?"

"It is the truth. And now that Ugo is dead, _I_ am the original. I am… _Aureolus Belli_. I have been, am and always will be."

"The only place you'll ever _be_ is locked up in a nut house or behind prison bars."

Riccardo opened his mouth and let out loud bursts of insane, sinister laughter. "You ignorant fool. Do you really think you can beat _me_?" He resumed his walking. "As an alchemist, I have vast knowledge spanning from the beginning of time, and I possess immeasurable and enormous powers which do not need to obey the laws of nature. And the girl will give me eternal life. Thanks to her and her Azoth, _I _will not die."

"You won't get anywhere near her," Leon sneered. His voice was ice cold.

"Enough!" Riccardo shouted and threw away his sword. Jumping high in the air, he landed on top of Leon, used his knee to pin the government agent to the floor and placed both hands around his neck. After running away from Leon earlier, he'd retreated to his research chamber in the mansion and drained a bottle of Bovis, a brewery much more potent than its base chemical, Fortis. Its name was derived from the Latin word for bull, and the concoction triples your strength and makes you virtually invincible for a short period. Leon had to use his full strength to prevent Riccardo from suffocating him. Riccardo pressed hard on Leon's chest with his leg and breathing was getting more and more difficult. His vision got blurry and he could feel the strength in his arms slowly ebbing out. His heart beating like crazy, he twitched and turned his head and shoulders in a desperate attempt to shake Riccardo off. The wall right next to them was virtually gone, and he caught a blurred glimpse of his jacket and a white dot flying across the bridge down below and into the house on the other side. Leon fought harder. John, Fiona and Hewie were counting on him to get them out safe. Through a hazy fog, he spotted a shiny item beside him. He shot out his arm, grabbed the silver disc and smacked it in Riccardo's temple as hard as he could. The pressure on his neck and torso lifted. Leon's body jerked up, he closed his fist and planted a hard one on Riccardo's nose. His leg shot out and he kicked the insane man in the stomach as hard as his weakened body could. It was enough. A stunned Riccardo stumbled backwards. Blood was dripping from his nose. There was no wall behind him. As he went over the edge, he screamed out Fiona's name and continued doing so all the way to the ground.

Leon had to sit for a short moment and catch his breath. This wasn't like him, but his chest and neck hurt, and his head was pounding and white and blue dots were flickering before his eyes. After a few deep breaths, his head had cleared up and his vision had returned to normal. He stepped over to the wall and peered over the edge. He saw water and stone. The fall had to be at least 30 feet; no one could survive a drop from this height. Hitting the water would be like hitting cement. Leon snorted. "So much for eternal life."

He straightened his spine, walked back into the tower and down the corkscrew staircase and pathway. While walking, he replayed the conversation with Riccardo in his mind. Fiona's weird behavior when she'd spotted the glowing bugs earlier, and what John had said about the luminessants made Leon wonder if Riccardo's words had been more than just crazy talk.

Either Riccardo had been a nutcase, or if what he'd said had actually been true, though he was nothing more than another greedy maniac craving for wealth and power, he could have proven to be very dangerous. Hopefully, the threat was now eliminated.

He was almost down when he spotted the hole in the pathway. The lever that controlled the center part was up and to his right, but Leon thought he could jump across and save some time. He backed up a bit, and then he ran at full speed and leaped over the gap. His fingers grabbed the edge and he fought to pull himself up.

"Leon!"

The radio summed to life as he was struggling to climb up to the walkway.

"Hey Leon, are you there?"

After a few strenuous seconds, Leon was leaning against the wall, panting. He could hear anxiety in Harrison's voice and picked up the radio.

"Leon here."

"Thank God, mate. For a second there, I was starting to get worried. Is everything okay with you and Fiona?"

"Yeah, fine. I was just… hanging." Leon straightened and started walking. "Fiona is inside a building across the lake. I'm heading over there now."

"She's not with you?! Did something happen?"

"Long story. I'll fill you in later. Anything new?"

"Yes. It wasn't easy, but I finally found some interesting facts about Azoth. Do you wanna hear it now?"

"Shoot."

"Apparently it's some kind of measureless spirit of life. A 'universal medicine' or 'universal solvent' that is very much sought after in alchemy, even more so than The Philosopher's Stone. Its symbol is the Caduceus and apparently, the letters itself forms a unity of beginning and ending of all things by tying together the first and last letters of the alphabets of antiquity; A/Alpha/Alef -the first character of Roman, Greek & Hebrew, Z -the final character in Latin, O -as Omega, the final character in Greek and Th as Tau -the final character in Hebrew."

"Uh-huh." More mumbo-jumbo talk. He crossed through the open gate and started walking over the bridge. It was still dark, but he could see a yellow stripe to the east. The sun would rise within the next hour.

"I've found one incredible fascinating entry, listen to this. In alchemy, there are three symbolic substances called Mercury, Sulphur, and Salt._ To these was added a fourth, mysterious life principle called Azoth. The Salt, Sulphur, and Mercury must not be confounded in any way with the crude salt, sulphur and mercury taken from the earth or secured from the apothecary. Salt, Sulphur, and Mercury each have a triune nature, for each of these substances contains, in reality, also the other two substances._"

"Look, John…"

"There's more. _The body of Salt is, therefore, threefold, namely salt, sulphur, and mercury; but in the body of Salt one of the three -salt predominates. Mercury is likewise composed of salt, sulphur, and mercury with the latter element predominating. Sulphur, similarly, are actually salt, sulphur, and mercury, with sulphur predominating. These nine divisions - 3 times 3 - plus Azoth, which is the mysterious universal life force, equals 10, the sacred Decad of Pythagoras_. This is incredible fascinating."

"It's meaningless babble, John."

Harrison sighted. "Well, you've never really been much interested in philosophy, wisdom or po…"

"And what do we tell the girl, John? That the reason she got dragged to this nightmare of a place is because some greedy bastard was planning on using her to carry on with his sick little game until the end of time? That her parents have been murdered because of this azoth, whatever the hell it is? She will blame herself for what happened to them. Then talking about salt and mercury and bloody sulphur isn't going to do her much good, John." He immediately regretted his looked truly chocked. "Do you mean she has…? Geez, I didn't know… Look, you know I want to save her just as much as you do, I never meant to…"

"Yeah, I know you do. I'm sorry, John."

"Me too. It's this place, it is…"

"Tell me about it. But what _is _really this Azoth?"

Harrison paused for a second. "From what I understand, there is much controversy concerning the nature of Azoth. Some view it as the invisible, eternal fire, others as electricity, still others as magnetism. Eh, transcendalists refer to it as the astral light whatever _that _means. I guess the ones who _do _know what it is, is not going to share their knowledge with the world. And one more thing, I have…"

The ground started to shake under his feet and Leon didn't catch that last sentence. Six yard from the entrance stairs to the House of Truth, the bridge started descending into the water. He had no time to attach the radio. Holding the communication device tight in his hand, he ran at full speed, jumped, and managed to grab a hold on the edge as the bridge disappeared under him.

"Leon, what is going on?" The American agent started the strenuous task of pulling himself up once again. When he was almost up, the radio slipped in his hand and Leon cursed as he watched the device fall into the water. He stepped up the stair and turned the knob. The door was shut tight. Leon tried to force it open, but it wouldn't budge.

"Fiona!" he screamed, while hammering on the massive wood. "Fiona, can you hear me?" There was no response and Leon's apprehension grew.

"Fiona! Hewie!" He put his ear to the door and listened. A second later, he heard a rumbling sound on the other side. An explosion? He resumed the hammering.

"Fiona. FIOOONAAA" Still no response. Leon backed away from the door.

"Damn!"

* * *

**Yay, finally the bronze figure and silver disc proved to be useful. The entries on Azoth I found on**

**alchemylab ****and azothgallery dot com**

**As always, thanks for the reviews.**


	24. Chapter 23 Revelation

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - REVELATION

Fiona and Hewie walked over a short and narrow walkway to an open area of about 25x30sqft. The sudden rise in temperature made her skin tingle, as if thousands of tiny needles were pricking her from the inside. Her eyes scanned the large, open space. The highly unusual interior design and the minimalist architecture were highly different from the gothic, medieval style in the castle and mansion. This place was more… eccentric. Stained glass in the ceiling threw a peculiar pattern of circular shadows on the floor, and several thin pillars of what seemed to be some kind of hollow wood were going from floor to ceiling straight ahead. There were descending stairways on both sides, divided in three sections they turned 180°. The pattern on the floor, the banisters and railings, the lamps, the pillars, the overall shape of the room… everything had a round or globular shape to it. Fiona couldn't spot a single square-shaped item anywhere.

"So this is the House of Truth…"

She had half expected to see Lorenzo welcoming her at the door, but the place seemed totally deserted. Though, he was a very old man, and from what he'd written in the last note, he had great difficulties moving around. She would have to search him out herself. Fiona stepped half way down the stair to her left.

"Lorenzo?"

No answer. She walked all the way down to the floor below. Underneath the staircase and between two grizzly bears, a grandfather's clock was slowly ticking its way through the early morning, reminding Fiona that she'd spent yet another hour in this nightmare of a place. A skull of what had once been some kind of antelope hung to her right and a grey wolf had been placed in a corner. Hewie glared at the stuffed canine with unease. The area also housed a flowering shrub, a wooden couch, chairs with no pillars and a small cabinet. There was another eerie-looking hole in the wall on the other side of the room. She walked up again and descended the second staircase with Hewie right behind her. The other room seemed to be about the same size as the one she'd just visited. A single torch was lighting up the area and the crisply burning fire was sprouting showers of sparks into the air. Fiona started to feel uncomfortably hot and took off Leon's jacket. Carrying the brown leather clothing over her left arm, she walked over to some crates, the only items in the otherwise empty room. The print said; _Caution. Extremely flammable. _Meaning the crates were probably filled with explosives or the like. She thought it best to keep her distance.

Back on the upper floor, she found a door hidden behind pillars of bamboo-like material and entered a narrow pathway with walls of dark stone. Human shapes and figures were protruding from the walls and ceiling. Though the limbs were of stone, Fiona still found the unnerving sight to be extremely macabre. She hugged Leon's jacket tight and drew in the scent of leather and male cologne. A sweet, warm, tingling sensation rushed through her body and she felt her cheeks glowing. She had no idea what so ever as to what type of brand it could be, save for definitely not the heavy and spicy Hugo Boss her father used to favour. This scent was light, fresh and energizing, but still masculine. The perfect type of cologne for an active and sporty young man.

The creepy corridor ended at a closed door with a strange carving on it that resembled a sun. She turned the knob, pushed the door open and peeked inside. Was there a shadow sitting in the darkness? She walked a few steps into the room for a better view when suddenly the door slammed shut, nearly decapitating Hewie in the process. Fiona's body spun around and then she turned and squinted into the darkness.

"Who's there?"

Eerie, squeaky sounds and hazy breathing emerged from the dark void beyond and scared Fiona. Terrified, she hurried back to the door.

"Poor Fiona…"

That voice… she had heard it before. On the telephone… _Lorenzo?! _Hands on the knob, she slowly turned. The shady figure kept talking.

"Riccardo put you through quite a bit, _didn't he_?"

Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the murky room. She saw weird equipment and posters in the back, bookcases along the walls and a statue half buried in the floor in front of her. But Lorenzo was still hiding in the shadows.

"Unlike Ugo, he was always a troublemaker. A _bad_ apple."

More grunting and gurgling, menacing sounds were rising from the gloominess ahead. Faces of stone were stirring at her from everywhere. She was really starting to get anxious and she regretted leaving Leon. What Lorenzo said next stirred up a turmoil of emotions inside Fiona as the truth her parents had hidden from her, a truth she wished she had never learned, was revealed.

"I, Aureolus Lorenzo Belli, created them both, Riccardo and Ugo."

Deep down she already knew, but to hear it spoken aloud, from someone she'd thought was only trying to help, was a blow to the stomach. Then she felt nothing but numbness.

"But then along came that wench, Ayla. She _stole_ Ugo away from me!"

Fiona could hear the contempt in his voice. He chose that moment to reveal his small and bony figure. An old wheelchair emerged from the darkness, and the man sitting in it looked like he could be around a hundred and fifty years old.

"Of course, then you came along, my dear. My dear Fiona. Fate brought you back to me!"

His hands frantically pushing the wheels, he started rolling towards Fiona at lights speed while laughing hysterically. "Now you are mine. _All mine!_"

Fiona screamed, jerked the door up and dived through the doorway. The old man leaped out of his chair and grabbed Fiona's leg, which caused the young girl to fall. She heard Hewie barking and felt Lorenzo's scrawny, skeleton like fingers groping and grasping her thigh. It felt like she was being molested by a mummy. She fought to free herself, but the persistent, breathing corpse refused to let go of her. He tore off the compress on her tight, and Fiona screamed in dread and pain as his dry, bony fingers bore deep into the open gash. His sneering and gurgling grew louder as he got more and more excited by the sight of fresh blood pouring out of Fiona's wound. He loosened the clutch on her leg and Fiona kicked him hard in the face and staggered to her feet. Hasting out of the dark hallway, she squeezed her hand on the bleeding wound while asking herself why._ Why was he doing this? Why was this happening to her?_

Lorenzo's pupils grew wide as he saw his hand smeared in Fiona's blood, and a spark ignited in his otherwise dead, pallid eyes. "Azoth," he gurgled and with a serpent's tongue, he licked his hand free of the crimson fluid. His dried, wrinkled corpse twitched and jerked in excitement, and he felt an immense joy as he greedily slurped up the fresh bloodstains on the ground. Not a single drop was left behind.

"_Azoth_."

Fiona ran the fastest she could back to the front door. It was closed. Had she closed it behind her when she'd entered the building? She couldn't remember. She pulled hard on the handle, but the door wouldn't budge. She heard gurgling and grunting behind her and dread shot through her body. _He _was coming for her. While Hewie stalled Lorenzo, Fiona ran down one of the stairs to hide in the shrub below. Crouching between branches and leaves, she could hear Lorenzo, searching around for _her. _His eerie breathing and the feverishly grunting while he was crawling over the floor was sickening. _Oh, please Leon. Hurry up._

Lorenzo stalled, hesitated and resumed pulling himself over the floor. Fiona went ice cold as she felt his scrawny fingers curling around her ankle. _He had found her._

Fiona tried to shake her foot free from Lorenzo's clenching fingers, but he refused to let go. How could a crippled, old man be so strong? Hewie came to her rescue once again, and by fiercely biting Lorenzo's neck, he forced the old man to let go of his death grip. Fiona stumbled up the stairs, hasted down to the other room and crouched behind the explosive crates. Hewie remained upstairs, barking like crazy. It was a poor hiding spot and Lorenzo was a good hunter. Though hiding was not her objective. Quite the contrary, she wanted to be found. It didn't take long before Lorenzo had dragged his dried corpse down the steps and now he was glaring suspiciously in Fiona's direction.

"Is that you, over there?"

As the old man approached with an unusually high speed, Fiona darted out from behind the crates and grabbed the crisply burning torch a few feet away. She waited until the crawling fossil had circled the boxes, and then she threw the torch behind the crates. When she started running for the stair, she tripped on the tile and nearly twisted her ankle. Lorenzo stretched out his long arms and grabbed a hold of Fiona's leg. Through Hewie's intense barking, Fiona heard the sound of wood burning. So did Lorenzo. The old man turned his head and his expression froze. "_FIOOOOONAAAA!"_

The powerful explosion that followed roared through the entire building and made the floor shake. Fiona instinctively covered her head with her arms. When the white smoke had lifted, she rose and saw Lorenzo's body lying motionless on the ground, covered in stone wreckage. The explosion had blasted a hole in the nearby wall and unravelled a hidden corridor. Fiona noticed something shiny between the large rocks that laid strewn around the floor. Why was Hewie still barking upstairs…? _Leon! _She grabbed the golden key and hurried up to unlock the door.

She found the American agent sitting on the steps outside. Hearing the door unlock behind him, he quickly rose and hurried inside.

"What just happened?" His head turned left, then right, and then back to Fiona. "What was that sound?"

Seeing the young girl's expression, he took a deep breath to cool down.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a much calmer tone. "What the he-, eh, what happened in here? Where's Lorenzo?"

Fiona remained silent, but pointed at a stair to Leon's right. He gave her a 'wait here' gesture and hurried down to investigate. When he returned, Fiona was sitting at the top of the staircase. The Alsatian was panting next to her.

"He's gone, there's no pulse," he said, unmoved. Fiona stared down at her feet. Leon sat down next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. Her pulse quickened.

"Hey, Fiona. It's OK, you…"

Leon stopped talking mid-sentence when he noticed the large gash on Fiona's thigh and the streaks of blood running down her leg.

"Who did this to you?"

Fiona felt her eyes burning behind squeezed eyelids. Her hatred for this place, these people, was indescribable. Leon put both hands on her shoulders. His fingertips brushed her bare back ever so slightly. It made her skin burn.

"Did _he_ do this to you?" he asked. Fiona nodded. Her eyes remained shut.

"Lorenzo?"

More nodding. She slowly opened her eyes. Her lips parted. Finally she spoke.

"I-I'm so sorry, Leon. I-I really thought he was o-on my-, our side."

She turned away. Her cheeks were burning with shame. And something else. An unfamiliar sensation was stirring deep inside her, a growing emotion that had not yet been allowed to surface to her conscious mind.

"Aw, don't worry about it," Leon comforted, fighting the urge to hug her. He removed his hands from her shoulders, placed his thumb and index finger on her chin and lifted her head, allowing their eyes to meet.

"I'm here now. Everything is going to be okay."

Cerulean eyes, filled with sorrow and fear, relief and gratitude. Clearer than the sky and deeper than the ocean, he could have stared into them for hours and be lost in his own world, forgetting all about time and space. Any other place any other time, he would have placed his hands around her head and curled his fingers into her golden locks. Then he would have pulled her close to him and gently pressed her soft, delicate lips to his. Realizing what he was doing, he quickly shook himself free of the fantasy and mentally kicked himself for daydreaming while on a mission. Pretending that his growing emotions for the girl sitting next to him didn't exist, he took out a first aid kit from one of the many side pockets on his pant legs.

"We have to do something about that wound before we can move on," he said, unscrewing the lid of a disinfectant. While Fiona stroke Hewie's back, Leon washed away the dried blood on her leg with a sterile cotton pad. He then took out a new pad and soaked it in antiseptic.

"This is going to sting."

Fiona buried her head in Hewie's fur while Leon cleaned the gash. It felt like her skin was on fire. Then he flushed the gaping cut with saline and covered the injury with dry pads, gauze and tape. Hewie went to get Leon's jacket that Fiona had dropped when running away from Lorenzo.

"There," Leon said smilingly when he was finished. "Good as new. Well, almost."

Fiona giggled. There was something about Leon's calm behaviour and boyish charm that made her feel safe and relaxed even in this hellish place. The American agent held his gaze fixed on her chest for a couple of seconds and then he quickly turned away, his face flushing.

"Eh, we ought to get going."

His eyes avoiding Fiona, he picked up his jacket, patted Hewie on the head and started walking down the entrance hall. Fiona fought hard not to laugh.

"Leon," she called out. The special agent turned and saw Fiona standing almost half way down the stair.

"It's this way," she said, jerking her head to the area below. Now Leon felt even more stupid.

"Right."

Fiona let the special agent pass and walked behind him down the staircase, past Lorenzo's body and into the secret hallway. She'd caught the American agent red handed ogling at her breasts, and for some odd reason, she found it incredible amusing. She never found it amusing when men stared at her chest, quite the opposite, actually.

This corridor was somewhat wider than the previous one and had less disturbing figures. Occasionally there was a window of stained glass to their left. Fiona noticed little else. Her eyes were locked on Leon's back. The parts of her skin that had been stroked by Leon's fingers still tingled. When they'd almost reached the end of the hallway, Hewie started to growl and Fiona's apprehension grew. She turned. So did Leon. Was that… a noise? A voice…?

"_Azoth."_

Impossible, but still a reality. Lorenzo had woken up. Resurrected from the dead, he'd resumed his quest for more Azoth.

"Quick, in here," Leon shouted. Fiona and Hewie hasted through a door that Leon held open. The agent closed the door behind him and made sure he was standing between Fiona and the entrance. Piles of rocks and sacks of dirt laid strewn to their right and a demolisher lined the wall to their left. The sound of Lorenzo's fingernails scraping on the door made chills go down Fiona's spine. Hewie's ears laid flat. The crippled man managed to knock the door open somehow, and crawled at full speed in Fiona's direction before coming to an abrupt stop. Without his knowledge, his robe had fastened in the demolisher's conveyor belt. The more he tried to drag his dried corpse forward, the more the cloth intertwined with the belt. Leon kicked the power generator to life and the conveyor belt started rolling, dragging Lorenzo's body under the crushing wheels.

"Fi-Fiona, Fiona. FIOOOONA."

Fiona turned her head as the old man got crushed by the demolisher. Leon did not. He wanted to make sure that this time, the old man really was dead.

"Let's move on," he urged and caught her arm. The trio moved out of the mining area, through a door engraved with a yellow sun and entered a brightly lit hall that was empty except for yet another grandfather's clock. Fiona noticed it had been almost exactly twelve hours since she'd entered the castle suite after waking up in that basement. Leon tried to open a door straight ahead, but it seemed to be locked from the other side.

"This one is open," Fiona said and stepped through the doorway, regretting it the next second. The door slammed shut behind her, leaving Leon and Hewie in the foyer outside. Fiona heard Leon call out her name and tried desperately to pull the door open. Then a voice filled the air.

"You've been very naughty, Fiona. You've been causing me much grief."

Fiona quickly turned, but there was no one behind her. She started hammering on the door.

"What are you doing, Fiona? Just where do you intend to run?"

The voice was coming from everywhere and nowhere. She ran through the corridor and relief surged to her body when she found a door at the other end. She jerked it up and felt her hope sink.

"Aha. Looks like a dead end, my dear. How unfortunate."

In pure desperation, Fiona started kicking the wall. The voice echoed through the room once more.

"There's no need to be so upset, my dear."

Whose voice was this? Where was it coming from?

"I will have you in my grasp soon enough."

She backed and nearly fell victim of a falling bookcase. The voice laughed.

"That was a close one, eh Fiona?"

The male voice continued mocking her as she ran through the dark corridor.

"Have you longed for me as I have longed for you?"

The door was still shut tight.

"I can see you clearly from here, Fiona."

She hammered her fists on the locked door. "Leon. Hewie," she shouted.

"How adorable you are, Fiona."

"Leon. Hewie, are you there?"

"Oh, how I love thee Azoth."

"_Hewie. LEON."_

"The young man has gone astray, my dear. He and the beast have headed down the path of the wet method and they are now lost in the coloured hallways."

Fiona had no idea what the hell that was suppose to mean, but it was clear that Leon and Hewie were no longer on the other side.

"Why must you run from me?"

She sank down to the floor."

"My dear Fiona, you simply cannot understand."

She rose and stepped backwards, away from the door.

"Everything I do is for the great truth."

She couldn't have cared less about the great truth.

"At last, you are mine, Fiona."

Fiona heard a click and the door opened.

"Come to me, Fiona. Come to me, Fiona."

The last thing Fiona wanted was to meet the owner of this mocking, mysterious voice, but she had no other choice but to go through the door. She had to find Leon and Hewie. She hurried out of the creepy hallway and walked out to a completely different location than before. Had the entire manor transformed? The door slammed shut behind her and she heard the lock click. The voice spoke again.

"The great Aureolus Belli once said: _The most valuable thing in this world is the Great Truth_."

Fiona looked around the room. She noticed a large painting in the ceiling. There was no way to tell where the voice was coming from.

"Human beings… human life… They are not capable of grasping this truth. We cannot merely sit idle and await the future. We must dedicate our lives to the realization of the truth!"

The door behind her unlocked once more.

"Ah, Fiona… no, my Azoth. Come to me… come to me."

The only other door in the room was locked; she had no other choice but to enter the hallway again. "I guess they have no intention of letting me go home," she thought to herself as she reluctantly stepped up the steps to the half open door. Pushing it all the way open, she noticed that the corridor had morphed into a small room with green light. Someone slammed the door shut behind her. Fiona turned. The person on the portrait in the castle suite stared at her with eyes that bore deep into her soul. She now knew why this figure had seemed so familiar.

"Daddy?"

The man in front of her moved laughingly towards her. Fiona backed all the way to the other part of the room. The man looking like her father reached out his hand and stroked Fiona's cheek.

"Ah, Fiona. My dear holder of Azoth."

Fiona waved the hand away. "What is going on? You're not my…"

"Azoth is the essence of life," he said. "We alchemists have the ability to convert it into power. We can live forever!" He drew a deep breath. "Your Azoth, Fiona belongs to _me_."

The man started twitching and turning, and his entire body was contracting in what looked like painful spasms, though he never stopped laughing. It didn't stop until he looked like he was thirty years younger, like her father when he'd been rocking her on his knee when she was four. The painful realization hurt to the bone. "_This man_," she reminded herself. "His eyes, his laughter, _he_ is evil, beyond doubt." He bent down and reached out his hand to Fiona.

"Come to me, Fiona. I will now extract the Azoth latent in you in order to realise the everlasting life of _Aureolus Belli_."

Fiona ran out of the room and through an open door. Hadn't this door been closed just a minute ago? It didn't matter, this man was dangerous, even more so than the others that had been stalking her. She had to get away now. She ran through a corridor with red windows. Sinister laughter filled the air around her. Or was it just in her head? Was she imagining hearing Hewie barking? No, there he was, thank God. But still no sign of Leon. She followed Hewie into a dark tunnel. The more she kept running, the more she seemed to get lost.

"I'm coming for you, Fiona."

The alchemist controlled magic and he had the ability to teleport. Hewie's biting didn't seem to affect him one bit, he just threw the dog away, mumbling '_meddlesome cur_.' Running though the tunnel was a nightmare and Fiona though she would never make it out alive. Just when she was convinced that she was merely running in circles, she finally reached a flight of steps and ascended to a near empty area that seemed somewhat familiar. After going up another set of stairs, she noticed this area was an exact replica of where she had first entered this house, but this area had no door leading out of the building. Instead, the walkway ended in mid-air. She walked down the other set of stairs and through a door. She had quit studying the surroundings. No more admiring of magnificent artwork and antique sculptures, she just wanted to get out, she hated this place and she just wanted to go home. She only stooped up to destroy the occasional mini homunculi that were popping up at random.

The monotonous ticking of a grandfather's clock lured her through an arched opening to a murky area only lit up by a couple of flickering torches, and from there she entered a place unlike any other she'd seen before. The room was circle round with an orange-red glow. A gaping hole in the centre took up most of the floor, thick pipes travelled along the ceiling and large fans were built into the wall. Hewie was sniffing the stone covet ground near what looked like a small altar. The caduceus had been engraved in the stone above a small, spherical groove in the middle of the plate, suggested what was missing from the construction. Hewie was barking and his back had gone rigid.

"Hewie?"

Fiona crouched down next to the canine.

"Have you picked up the scent, boy?"

They left the area and Fiona followed Hewie into a tunnel supported by wooden beams and illuminated by torches. After a couple of minutes, the path divided in two and since it seemed that Hewie had lost the track, Fiona had to guess which way to go. She chose the right path, which ended at a locked door. She turned the key that had been left in the lock, opened the door and was back in the hall where she had lost Leon a few minutes earlier. There was a third door in the hall, but it was closed so tight one should think it was welded shut. Had it been sealed by some kind of alchemic power? Was this the way out? She walked back into the dark tunnels. Where in God's name was Leon? Hewie was barking at a wall as if he was trying to tell her something. Fiona noticed some irregularities in the wall and reached out her hand. The moment her fingers touched the wall, she felt a stabbing pain above the left shoulder blade. Her hand flew to her back. She was convinced she was bleeding but there were no traces of blood on her fingers. A red mark appeared on the wall, the exact same shape as her birthmark. What was going on here…?

The wall parted in two and revealed a cane of caduceus. Its wooden handle had started to corrode and the cane had fallen into disrepair. Fiona carefully removed the item and hurried back to the strange room. She made it without any distractions and put the cane with the two intertwining snakes into the groove. The ruby on top of the staff glimmered in the orange light. Suddenly the ground started to shake and sparks of electricity travelled along the walls and the pipes over Fiona's head. Next minute, the fans started rotating and the hole in the middle of the room filled up with red glowing magma. Fiona knew she had to be careful. If she fell into the pit, she would be toast… quite literally.

"Your effort is for naught."

Fiona gasped and lifted her gaze. Through the ascending heat and tiny bubbles of lava, she saw a familiar figure. Too familiar. Like her father when he was walking her to her first day of school, holding her hand and comforting her, telling her that everything would be okay. A stab of pain. Now she would be forced to kill or to be killed. The realization hurt. She had to remind herself that his monster was not her father.

"How long do you plan to keep this up?"

Aureolus Belli lifted his head and squinted.

"Let's finish this, Fiona."

He vanished before Fiona's eyes, teleported to the other side of the hole, landed on top of the young girl and knocked her to the ground. Then he arched his body backwards, raised his hands in the air and laughed. A blue light surrounded his arms. Hewie attacked. The alchemist shook himself free and kicked the dog hard in the side. Hewie howled in pain.

"Meddlesome cur!" he exclaimed. "I've had it!"

He hurled his fist in the floor, which made the ground shake like an earthquake, and then he ran towards the terrified girl who was still lying on the ground. Fiona picked up a jade coloured stone and threw it at the now young, powerful and furious Lorenzo. The pebble bounced off and landed in the pit, which caused a burst of flames sprouting out of the well. It seemed to stun Lorenzo for a short moment. She continued to throw and kick stones into the crater while avoiding the alchemist for what felt like an eternity. He seemed to get more and more infuriated for each second that went by. Then a gush of wind. Hewie had stepped onto a platform and activated one of the fans. The blazing air seemed to drain the alchemist of his powers. He stumbled backwards to the edge of the lava pit, and laughingly he dived into the inferno. It as if he had nothing to fear, not even death itself.

Fiona knew that no one could fall into hot-glowing magma and survive. Nevertheless, something just didn't feel right.

"Come on, Hewie," she said to the canine growling at the edge of the well. "We have to get out of here."

The ground was shaking and bits of sharp stone were falling from the ceiling. Had she activated some kind of self-destructive mechanism?

A large tremor made Fiona instinctively crouch down. The path to the right was blocked by large boulders, and she was stopped by a shut door to the left. She tried to turn the handle, but it wouldn't bulge. Something seemed to be snagged on the other side of the door, keeping it from opening. A glowing light in the corner of her eye and the smell of burnt meat caught her attention. Something was burning, moving…?

"Fiooona!"

Impossible!

Aureolus Belli, engulfed in flames was coming for her, calling desperately for her Azoth.

"Hewie, go!"

The canine hit the door and burst it open. Fiona flew through the doorway and into the tunnel. Another tremor caused her to fall to the floor. The flaming corpse was getting closer. Panic was building up in her. She stumbled through the tunnel on all four, her heart fiercely pounding in her chest. A falling statue. She had to use all her muscle force to prevent the heavy thing from squashing her. The orange light was growing closer and closer.

Suddenly the weight of the statue lifted and someone pulled her arm.

"Fiona, come on. Let's move!"

Leon!

"This was, hurry. The building is going to fall down at any second."

Young Lorenzo, now merely a burning skeleton appeared in the doorway and made Leon's eyes go wide.

"What the- _shit_! MOVE, NOW!"

He took Fiona's hand and together they ran out to the main hall with the flaming corpse closing in. Lorenzo reached the door first and blocked the only way out, screaming and waving his red-glowing limbs in a last desperate effort to stop Fiona from leaving. But he'd been on fire for too long and he soon crumbled to the floor. No Azoth could save him now and after a few minutes, there were only a few ounces of ash left of the great alchemist. Fiona kicked the black powder.

"This time," she whispered. "You really are dead. You bastard."

She felt a mystical power flowing through the door leading out of the house of truth, and it opened when Leon placed a hand on it. It was still dark outside, but now the sky had a clear blue colour. The sun would rise at any moment. Behind them, the house of truth was now nothing more than a pile of boulders and large rocks. They had managed to escape just in time. Now they were heading into the darkness of the chaos forest. There was a small pitch and some sharp rocks ahead and Fiona, who was still walking around with no shoes on, cut her toe. Leon took her in his arms and carried her over the uneven terrain. The short mini skirt barely covered Fiona's private parts and she started to feel self-conscious again. The dress was very beautiful and comfortable, but it was not something that she would have chosen to wear herself. She hoped that Leon didn't think this was how she normally dressed. Luckily, his mind seemed to be occupied with other things. When he reached the soft forest ground, he put Fiona down. Her foot didn't hurt that much, and they would move faster if she ran on her own feet. Leon lit his flashlight and they spotted a narrow path almost hidden in the thick forest, which was travelling in the direction of the castle.

Hewie stopped up and sniffed the air. They didn't have much time. He started to run down the slope, but slid on the wet, moss-grown surface and collided with a large boulder. One of his paws got jammed between the rock and the stone covert ground. His other paws panicky scratched the stone surface until he started bleeding from his claws, but his canine body didn't move an inch. Any desperate attempt to shake free only resulted in excruciating pain. He saw Fiona's blonde hair disappear between branches and leaves in the forest ahead. He didn't bark, did nothing to call for her attention. He still smelled danger in the air and he wanted Fiona to keep moving forward. If she just kept running she would make it. Besides, she had someone else to protect her now. Hewie knew that he would die, alone and in pain, but knowing that Fiona would be safe gave him peace. He loved Fiona and would sacrifice his life for her in a heartbeat.

* * *

**The end. No, just kidding. This story is coming to an end, but there's still more to be told. So terrible sorry for the long wait, people, I have just been so busy with my studies, not to mention a major writer's block. But I hope it was worth the wait and I plan to have the next chapter up before the end of next month.**

**I called Young Lorenzo for both Aureolus Belli and Lorenzo because, in a way, he is both. I mean, is as close to as you can come, and who knows, maybe he really is_ the_ Aureolus Belli. I didn't want to spend too much time describing H.O.T so I just briefly mentioned certain areas like the coloured pathways, I focused more on the characters and their relations. And of course, the intense action parts like the statue. It was the only part in the game that really made my palms sweat.**

**Thank you so much for the rewievs AerithGast88, Arashi and Piklink. Just the kind of reactions that I was hoping for:)**


	25. Chapter 24 The Getaway

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR - THE GETAWAY

"Hewie!"

They had been running through the woods for almost ten minutes when Fiona came to realise that the white German shepherd was no longer with them.

"Hewie," she called out once more. Leon joined in. There was no sign of him anywhere and Fiona started to feel panicky. No white coated animal came running out from behind the tree lines, there was no bark in reply, no cry for help.

"He is _gone_!" Fiona shouted desperately, angry with herself for not noticing sooner. She had just lost both her parents; she couldn't bear the thought of loosing Hewie too. Even though she had only known the Alsatian for a few hours, she loved him more than anything.

"I am not leaving without Hewie," she persisted and turned to run back. Leon stopped her.

"No, you stay here. I'll go and look for him."

Fiona watched as Leon's back disappeared in the darkness, and soon she could neither see nor hear him. She was worried sick about Hewie and she was terrified that Leon might come back empty handed. Even more terrified that he might not come back at all. Her eyes wandered the spooky forest landscape. Dark silhouettes of three branches formed a cobweb pattern against the blue sky above, adding to the ghostly atmosphere. A gush of wind sent chills down her spine, covering her pale figure with goose bumps. The forest was pre-dawn quiet with only a few birds singing. Daylight was not far away now and for Fiona, the sun couldn't rise fast enough. Warm and pleasant, it would soothe her soul and chase the murky shadows away. Something crawled onto her foot, sending shivers through her body. Her leg jerked instinctively and she violently shook off the creepy, crawly insect. Then she heard it. A noise, clearly not belonging to any forest creature. Was it just a result of her paranoia? How long had Leon been gone? Four minutes? Maybe five?

It started as a sneaking sensation from deep inside her chest, but it soon grew stronger and manifested itself in her entire body. She felt the throbbing pulse in her ears pacing up as it dawned on her. _She was not alone. _She quickly turned, but there was no one behind her. She focused on her breathing to calm herself down. Deep inhalations, slow exhalations. "It's just my imagination," she told herself, over and over again. "There is no one here, there _can't_ be…" It didn't help. The unnerving feeling of being watched grew more and more intense. One more minute went by. Three. Then another sound. A branch snapping in two. Then one more. Clothes brushing against leaves. Ice-cold fear froze the blood in her veins and her vision narrowed. Now she was sure. Someone was out there, lurking in the shadows, watching her, waiting, _hunting..._

She turned again. _Where? _Ten metres away? A hundred?

She had to do something. Her first instinct was to run. '_No,' _a voice said inside her head. _'Whoever is out there knows these woods much better than you. You'd just fall victim of a cruel cat and mouse game. Better to stay put and wait for Leon.' _But what if Leon didn't make it? _No!_ She wouldn't even finish that thought. A crow lifted from the branch it had been resting on. The sound made Fiona jump. Her mouth was dry, her palms moist and sweat was running down her cheeks. The birds had stopped singing. _He was near. _Should she scream? Hide? Too late. Her heart nearly stopped when a clammy hand grasped around her throat and something cold pressed against her temple. An angry voice hissed in her ear.

"Don't move a muscle!"

After several minutes of searching and shouting, Leon saw a movement in the corner of his eye that caught his attention. A white animal was lying between piles of sharp rocks a few steps from the ruins of what had once been the house of truth. He slowly moved his way up to the hurt dog as he didn't want to startle him. Hewie warily lifted his head at the sound of human footsteps. The wind was blowing in an unfavourable direction and the frightened animal could not smell who was approaching. When the government agent crouched down next to him, relief rushed through his body and his eyes lit up.

"Hey there, buddy." Leon comforted him and stroked his head. Despite the angst and agony he was feeling, the dog wagged his tail. Leon's heart sank when he saw the blood stained paws.

"Let's get this thing off you, eh boy," he said and put all his weight on the large stone squeezing onto Hewie's back leg. He managed to move the rock a little bit, just enough for Hewie to crawl free. He was badly injured and undoubtedly in a lot of pain. Leon tucked the animal in his jacket and lifted the bundle up in his arms. The dog was now wagging his whole body in happiness and eagerly licking Leon's face to show his gratitude. The special agent patted his head in response.

"Hey, not in the ear," he said laughingly. Then recognition sparked in Leon's eyes. He suddenly remembered a white dog caught in a bear trap, his back leg severely injured.

"This is not the first time I have helped you, eh boy?"

Hewie answered with a cheerful bark.

Hewie's crushed paw was too injured to walk on so Leon carried the dog in his arms as they hurried back through the dense forest. Hewie got more and more agitated with every minute that passed by and Leon had a hard time holding on to him.

"Hey, easy there, buddy," he said, trying to comfort the animal. His snout was high and Leon was wondering if he'd caught the scent of something.

"What is it, bud?" he whispered in Hewie's ear. "Is someone around?" He started to feel uneasy. The only weapon he had on him was his knife, and Hewie was too injured to fight even for himself. One minute later, he realised that he should never have left Fiona alone. Shock, then rage raced through the special agent and the canine.

"What the-" Leon stuttered, perplexed.

The last person they had expected to see had taken the terrified Miss Belli hostage, holding a gun to her head with one hand and his other tight around her throat.

"_You! _How the hell did you…?" he said in bewilderment and disgust to the person standing behind Fiona.

The sweet feeling of success and victory made Riccardo Belli virtually glowing. He lifted his chin and a satisfactory smile crept over his deformed face.

"Fool. Did you really think that you had beaten _me_?" he said with arrogant pride and deep inhalations, clearly enjoying every second. "I told you, as an alchemist I have unspeakable and immeasurable powers. _I_ even know how to cheat death."

"No, it's impossible to survive a fall like that!" Leon angrily exclaimed.

Riccardo's grin widened and displayed a set of perfectly aligned teeth. "Not for me, I'm _invincible_."

"You're insane!"

"Am I?" His grip on Fiona's throat tightened. "Or am I merely a misunderstood genius?"

Hewie's upper lip curled upwards as a deep, hateful sneer emerged from between his sharp teeth. Leon could tell from his tense body that he was ready to fight, but the dog couldn't even walk and Riccardo would not hesitate to shoot him right in front of Fiona's eyes. Leon was not about to let that happened. He hugged the canine close to his chest.

"Let the girl go!"

Riccardo tightened his grip on Fiona's throat even more. His index finger was pressing hard on her larynx and she started to choke. "She's _mine_," he hissed and buried his lips in her hair. He decided to reveal his intentions to the uninvited guest. Before killing him, he wanted to taunt this troublesome young man by telling him what he would do to the girl. _In detail. He _had the upper hand now. Nothing and no one could stop him, not even this imprudent, American intruder.

"_I need her. _Or more precisely, I need her womb. You see, only by being reincarnated with _her_ Azoth can I become complete."

He stroked Fiona's hair with the barrel of his gun. "S_he_ will give birth to _me_ as the true Aureolus Belli, a master alchemist, a true scholar an… _immortal_."

Fiona burned with shame. And fear. Disgust and revolt made Leon's stomach turn.

"Don't you even dare to put your hands on her!" he screamed while his cheeks was burning with rage and fury. He was much too agitated, much too emotionally involved than what he should be as a special agent. But he couldn't help it, just the mere thought of what this _monster_ was planning to do to this girl…

"Oh, yeah?" Riccardo loosened his grip on Fiona's neck and started tracing his fingers along her collarbone.

"You touch her one more time and I'll break every bone in your body."

Riccardo sighted. Even though clearly defeated, the American showed no sign of resigning. He'd enjoyed shovelling his triumph in the young man's face, but now this was getting rather tiresome. He turned his attention to Fiona.

"Let's end this now Fiona. It's been a long night my dear and you should get some rest."

He grabbed her hair and looked straight into her beautiful, cerulean eyes. At that moment, he was more frightening than anyone Fiona had ever seen before, including the giant and the insane, murderous maid. She thought he looked nothing like her father.

"My offer still stands. Come with me and I will let them both live," he lied.

Leon was not about to let Riccardo get away that easily.

"If you need her so much as you say you do then put down your gun."

Riccardo frowned. It was true that his plans would be ruined if the young girl were to be shot. However, he would rather see her dead than leave the castle with _him_. Besides, the young man would never do anything to endanger the young lady's life.

"I'll take my chances," he sneered back. Then he started to move and pulled the girl with him. "_Now Fiona_, are you ready to go home?"

Fiona didn't respond as she was unable to speak. She felt her body turn and following Riccardo into the forest on shaky legs. Behind her, Leon was shouting behind their backs that Riccardo would never get away with this and Hewie was probably saying the same thing in dog language. _Hewie. _She had to fight hard to hold the tears back. They had fought so hard together against the evilness of this place. They had almost made it. _Almost._ Fiona turned her head and saw the silhouette of the castle in front of them. Her future home. _'__The rest of my life… in this place,__'_she thought. She saw Riccardo's smug grin in the corner of her eye. '_With this man. Forcing himself on me…__'_He had no intentions of letting Hewie or Leon live. He did not want any loose ends. And once he got his Azoth…

'_No,' _said a voice inside her head. No, this is _not _going to happen. Leon and Hewie would not die and she would not be his slave for the rest of her life. She would rather die. With strength and courage she didn't even know she had, she twisted herself out of his grip and pushed him away the hardest she could. A surprised Riccardo quickly grabbed her hand.

"Fiona, what are you doing?"

With nothing to loose and everything to win she fought back with the hardest she could. Leon got silent for a second and then he started calling out her name. She could hear the fear in his voice. With every muscle working at full speed, she started kicking Riccardo's leg, and she was twitching and turning her body fighting to free herself, fighting for her life. For a short moment Riccardo seemed completely taken aback by her intense struggle.

"Fiona, NO! Why are you…?"

A gunshot roaring through the air made everyone go ice cold. Free from Riccardo's grip she stumbled backwards. She tried to regain her balance, but her trembling legs could barely hold her up. Though she was cold and exhausted, her fingers felt so warm. And moist. She lowered her gaze. All colour vanished from her face as she saw the crimson red fluid dripping from her hands. Bloody and petrified, Fiona fell to the forest floor.

Leon's voice brought her back to consciousness. He was repeating the same phrase over and over again but Fiona was too stressed to make out what he was trying to say. When her vision eventually cleared, she saw Leon crouching over her. Still holding on to Hewie, he was trying to shake her awake while Hewie was licking her chin. With good help from Leon, she managed to sit up. Still feeling light headed, she fell forward and landed on his shoulder. Finally, his words reached her mind. She turned and saw Riccardo lying flat on his stomach a few feet away and she understood what had happened. The blood on her hands was not hers. She was not the one that had been shot. Never in her life had she been so relieved before. Leon helped her up on her feet again. A sound made them both turn and Leon tightened his grip on Fiona's waist. Hewie was sniffing the air, but this time he stayed calm. Then Leon's face lit up in a big smile and Fiona looked up in surprise as John Harrison came out from behind a bush still holding on to Leon's gun, which he had fired only a few seconds earlier.

"About time. What took you so long?"

Harrison threw his arms out in a '_c__'__mon gimme a break would ya__'_gesture as he walked towards the others. The only sign of the trauma he'd suffered just a few hours earlier was the dried blood on his trousers and a slight limp on his right leg.

"Hey, my leg was _broken_, remember? Look at me, I'm not even supposed to be walking right now." He clicked the safety back on and gave the gun back to Leon. "You just be glad I came in time to save your sorry ass," he said smilingly.

"I'm just kidding with you amigo," Leon replied and put a hand on the Interpol agent's shoulder. "I've never been so happy to see your ugly face as I am right now."

Harrison gave Leon a friendly nudge with his elbow, gave Hewie a pat on the head and then he turned his attention towards Fiona.

"So this is the lovely Miss Belli?"

Fiona did recognise the British accent from the radio earlier, but she still looked puzzled.

"Eh Fiona, this is my partner John," Leon explained. "He's the one that found out about this place."

"You turned out to be one hard lady to find, Miss," Harrison said to Fiona and winked. Leon chuckled to himself. John the flirt, though always a true gentleman. All that was missing was the cloak and the top hat.

"Nice to meet you," Fiona said and returned the smile but not the wink. Looking bewildered, she shifted her attention back and forth between the two agents.

"We'll explain everything later," Leon assured. "After a nice meal and a good night's sleep. For now, let's just get the hell outta here!"

"Agreed!" John said. "The car is not far from here. And backup is on its way. When we lost contact earlier, I was about to tell you that as soon as I heard you had found the girl, I called Interpol headquarters and the French police, who in turn, called the Italians. The cavalry is on its way as we speak."

"You managed to call out from here?" Leon asked in surprise.

"I found a telephone in one of the castle's hallways," Harrison explained. "The line had been cut, but I managed to hook it up to the outgoing network," he said triumphantly.

"Good, then what are we waiting for? Let's move."

Harrison turned to the motionless and blood-spattered body lying on the forest ground.

"What about _him_?" he asked. Leon shrugged.

"What _about_ him?" he asked back and turned to look at Fiona. The young girl stared at Riccardo. Scenes from the accident filled her head. Riccardo murdering her father. With a shiver, she remembered waking up in the water tower wearing only the surgical wear. Only God knew what he had been doing to her. She thought about when she'd found Hewie with a steel wire digging into his neck, most likely Riccardo's work. She felt nothing for the fatally injured man lying just a couple of yards from where she was standing. No compassion, no empathy, no desire to help… and absolutely no guilt of leaving him there. She turned away and started to walk away together with John and Leon. They didn't get far. A sound behind her made her go ice cold.

"You ungrateful, filthy whore," Riccardo sneered at her back. "I should have gutted you like a fish when I had the chance."

As on cue, three heads turned simultaneously. Riccardo was still lying on his stomach, but he had lifted up his head and was staring at Fiona with icy eyes. Blood and white foam came oozing out of his mouth.

"I should have… sliced you open," he laughed. Harrison ran up to him and punched him hard on the nose. Leon was busy holding on to both Fiona and Hewie.

"SHUT UP!" he screamed. Riccardo flipped over to his back. Eight eyes widened. He had been shot straight in the heart, blood was still poring out of the wound, but he did not seem to be dying. On the contrary, his skin still had a fresh colour and his eyes, clear as crystal, were filled with anger and wrath.

"That was what the maid was trying to do to you, wasn't it?"

Fiona gasped in horror. It was just the reaction Riccardo had hoped for.

"Oh yes, I've seen her, Fiona. I know what happened to her. I know… _everything_."

A hand flew to her mouth and Leon hugged her harder. Harrison was still holding Riccardo by his blood-smeared clothes. Leon noticed his knuckles were white.

"What did you do to her, Fiona? What did you do to the maid?" Leaning his head back, he was almost chanting.

"Oh, I so wonder what my sweet, sweet Fiona did to our maid…"

"ENOUGH!" Harrison shouted and raised his fist.

"John, NO!" Leon stopped him. "He's not worth it."

Harrison's arm froze mid-air.

"He's not worth it buddy," Leon repeated. "This psycho is _not_ worth getting into trouble for."

Harrison drew in a deep breath and let go of Riccardo. His face was red with anger.

Yeah," he said. "This pathetic little creep isn't worth it."

Leon was also boiling inside as he watched how Riccardo crawled on the ground coughing up chunks of blood between bursts of sinister laughter.

"I didn't…" an upset Fiona said with a shrill voice. "I didn't mean to… I-I didn't know that the glass would break. I just wanted to get away. I never meant for anyone to get hurt, I swear," she sobbed.

Leon put Hewie gently down and put both hands on Fiona's shoulders.

"I know," he said to her. "Look, I saw her too. You are not to blame for what happened to her, you hear me?" He stroked her chin. "There's no way you could haven known."

Fiona nodded. Leon's words had calmed her down once again. He always seemed to know exactly what to say. Just as Riccardo knew exactly how to make her feel even worse just when she thought she couldn't be any more miserable.

"Fiona," he hissed. "Do you want to know what your father said to me before he died at my hand? Do you want to know what his last words was before he choked on his own blood?"

"Don't listen to him Fiona," Leon said to her in a firm voice. He held her gaze. "He's lying. He's only trying to upset you. Don't let him."

Harrison pulled out Leon's gun from the holster and aimed it at Riccardo who was rolling around and laughing.

"I've changed my mind. This low-life scum is just a waste of air."

The satisfactory smile on Riccardo's face made Fiona realize what he was planning.

"Noooo," she screamed and ran towards Harrison. "Don't shoot. That is what he wants." The British agent stared back at her with a bewildered look. Riccardo stopped laughing. Fiona explained. "He wants us to shoot him and leave him here to die. But he can't die. He will come back, stronger than ever. And then he will coming for us. I know this sounds insane, but…"

"No, actually it doesn't. From my experience here, I'm willing to believe that," John said.

"Yeah, me too," Leon agreed.

Riccardo had gone silent.

"Now what?" Harrison asked.

"I have an idea," Leon said. "Gimme a hand, John."

As the sun rose, the two men carried an unwilling Riccardo out of the forest while Fiona walked a few steps back carrying Hewie. Outside the front gate, Fiona and Hewie enjoyed the morning sun as Harrison opened the back of the car and took out a thick cable. The agents bound an angry Riccardo to a tree nearby. He was shouting insulting words and obscenities and both men had to use all their willpower in order to not punch his nose up his brain.

"This thing can withstand a force of 30 tons," Harrison said. "He's not getting anywhere."

"You can't do this to me," Riccardo shouted at John and Leon as they walked back to the car where Fiona and Hewie were waiting. "I am a great alchemist. I cannot be defeated. I will come back. I will."

"Yeah, yeah," Leon called back over his shoulder and opened the front door. "We're gonna leave you now, but don't you worry. Some nice people are on their way and I'll make sure they pick you up."

Fiona climbed into the backseat, placed Hewie gently next to her with Leon's jacket on top of him and fastened the seatbelt. Leon insisted on driving as Harrison's leg still hadn't fully healed and he ordered him to take an x-ray. Harrison insisted that he was fine, didn't need to see a doctor and was fully capable of driving. Leon won the discussion. Fiona stroked Hewie on the head and told him that everything would be fine. The dog was exhausted and could barely hold his eyes up. The car started rolling and he soon fell asleep at the soothing hum of the engine. Fiona stared out the window, painful memories of the fatal crash only two days earlier stirred up inside her. Her parents were dead and a part of her had died with them, but she had to move on. She had to keep living. Leon looked at her through the rear view mirror.

"You guys OK back there?"

Fiona nodded and managed a weak smile. Truth be said, when Leon around, it wasn't that hard to smile. Not even under the worst circumstances.

"When we get to the nearest town, I'll make sure you and Hewie get looked at by a doctor." He turned to look at Harrison. "And that goes for you too."

Fiona couldn't believe this nightmare had finally come to an end. Still, even though she was beat, it was hard to relax completely. She wanted to sleep, but was wide-awake and couldn't even close her eyes to rest. Half an hour later Leon pulled over to allow the police and other, unmarked cars to pass on the narrow road. After another 30 minutes, Harrison got the report that they had found the place and that Riccardo had been apprehended. As soon as Fiona heard that he had been taken into custody, she collapsed on top of Hewie and was asleep before her head touched Leon's jacket.

Harrison noticed how Leon, who was being unusually quiet, threw stolen glances at Fiona in the mirror almost every two second. And by the look that he was sending her, it was not just professional concern for an 'extricated subject'. The girl was stunningly gorgeous, and any normal, breathing man would occasionally throw stolen glances in her direction, but he knew that it was more than just physical attraction from Leon's side. In fact, he was wondering if the government agent had already fallen for the young woman. At least one thing was certain; the woman in red would no longer haunt his best friend's mind. She now had to step aside for a radiant young girl with beautiful, cerulean eyes.

Leon noticed Harrison looking at him. He glanced in his direction and cooked a smile but he still didn't speak. They had enjoyed very much working together. Besides a few complications in the beginning everything had turned out just as planned. They had saved the girl and put the perpetrator behind bars where he belonged.

Mission accomplished.

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**And this Ladies and Gentlemen, is how Haunting Ground _should_ have ended. In my humble opinion that is;-P Now you guys didn't really think that I was gonna off Hewie did you? Of course not, I adore that white German Sheperd^-^**

**And that's it for Fiona's Nightmare. Please read the epilouge for some final words about our friends and foes and a last A/N. Cheers;-D**


	26. Epilouge

**EPILOGUE**

A spine-chilling, high-pitch scream from inside her head stirred Fiona awake. Breathing heavily, she sat up in the Queen Size bed, her soaking wet nightgown clinging to her shivering body. Once again, she'd been reliving the nightmares in Belli castle in her sleep. She knew there was no point in trying to go back to sleep. Instead, she threw a quick glance to her side, got up and tip toed barefoot down to the kitchen where she made herself a nice cup of camomile tea. In the living room, she lit a lavender candle and drew in the soothing scent. There. She was already starting to feel a little better. She sat down in a rocking chair, covered her legs with a thin blanket and sipped the warm, tranquillising brewery while looking out the window. The diamond ring on her left hand glimmered in the soft moonlight. In the distance, the Washington monument lit up the dark sky like a giant phallus.  
Hewie came up to where Fiona was sitting and put his head on her lap. Fiona started rubbing the faithful dog behind his ears. After years of endless nightmares, these late rendezvous had turned into a nightly routine.  
"Three years," she whispered to herself. She couldn't believe it had gone over three years since the kidnapping and the death of her parents. She still missed them like crazy. It was like a wound that would never heal. Fortunately, she had her family and friends to support her. Her youngest aunt, who was now expecting her first child, had taken over her parents' old house in London. Moving to The United Stated far away from her aunts and her childhood friend Alyssa had been a tough decision, but in England everything reminded her of her parents. She needed a fresh start with the man she loved.

When her story had leaked to the press, it had turned into quite the media circus and the Belli castle could no longer hold on to its anonymity. Fiona had managed to keep a low profile and her name had never been revealed in public, but being reminded of the nightmare she'd been through wherever she went had been tough. Riccardo had been right about one thing though. The castle was indeed hers, but as she wanted nothing to do with that place, she had sold it to the first bidder. She had put away some of the money earned from the sale for education and accommodation, the rest she had given away to animals and children in need. The property was now under the care of the government and had been turned into a museum of sorts. It was a popular destination for pilgrims seeking the secrets and wisdom of Alchemy and 'The Great Truth'.

Debilitas, the giant, had been terrified when the police force broke into the castle and they had been forced to sedate him. He was now living in a place in Europe that specialized in handling the mentally disabled where he was gradually learning to socialize with others and handle his own strength and excitement. If he managed to keep his dolls in one piece for a full day, he was given a reward. He was happy there and, according to the keepers, the garden had never looked better. Fiona had visited him there once and he'd given her a hug. A normal hug that did not threaten to crush her torso. A big step in the right direction. It was also expected that with the right stimulation, he would eventually be able to communicate like a seven-year-old child.  
The maid, Daniella, had not been equally blessed. According to the autopsy report, the parts of her brain dealing with empathy, emotions, reflections and such had proven to be deformed and highly abnormal. Some areas and neural junctions had even been missing altogether. She would never have been able to live a normal life, not even Azoth could have saved her. It also meant that she could not be held responsible for her actions. She had been acting in despair, desperately in search for a life that she could never have and she could not have understood the consequences of her actions. Fiona had forgiven her everything.  
Riccardo on the other hand, was a different story. She could never forgive what he'd done to her. He was the one responsible for everything that had happened to her -and her parents. He was now locked behind bars for life in a high-secure jail in Europe, but Fiona still feared that one day he would escape and come after her. Or even worse, what if he came after… Fiona shivered. It was one of her most frequent nightmares together with the burning corpse. Lorenzo had been drinking her blood… Had Aureolus Belli really been resurrected, or had it been just another unhappy clone? She would never know. Lorenzo was definitely dead and Riccardo wasn't speaking to anyone. He'd started to read some books about medieval history in the prison library, but he'd quickly thrown them in al directions screaming in rage that they were empty, deceiving and far away from the great truth. He'd never spoken again and didn't want to socialize with the other inmates. He was just sitting in his cell, writing the same Latin phrase on the walls over and over again: _alterius non sit qui suus esse potest_, -let no man that can belong to himself be of another.

Fiona rose, blew out the candle and walked out to the kitchen with the empty teacup. Hewie went back to bed. His injured paw had healed completely and he had no problem with jumping or running. The scar on Fiona's thigh was almost invisible too. A sound made her go back upstairs. She opened a door and peeked into the room. Just as she'd thought, the baby was awake. She walked over to the cradle, lifted up her seven-month baby boy and sat down on a chair to give him some milk. Becoming a mother was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to her, though it was hard too since she was still in college. She would be graduating next year and she was hoping to land a job at the UN or Amnesty International. She wanted to promote human rights where they had none and be a spokesperson for innocent people fallen victim of kidnapping and torture.

"Nightmares again?"

Fiona turned and saw a drowsy Leon leaning on the door. Her face softened and she sent him a warm smile. She shifted in her chair so Leon could sit down next to them.

"I didn't wake you, did I?"

Leon shook his head and hugged her close. "You know I can always tell when you're not lying next to me, sweetheart," he whispered in her ear and caressed her hair with his fingers.

Fiona stroked his chin and touched his bare chest. Leon always knew when to say. The baby had fallen asleep and Leon carried him back to his bed.

"Sleep tight Josh," he said and stroked his son's head.

Fiona felt the familiar lump in her chest. Joshua Noah would never know his grandparents. Her parents never got to see her get married. Her father had not been there to walk her down the aisle and her mother had not been sitting on the first row, crying of happiness. Leon slumped back in the chair.

"I promise I'll cut down on work assignments from now on," he assured his young wife. Fiona nodded and her eyes filled with gratitude. A returning subject of their rare fights had been Leon's travelling hours. However, no matter how much the job as a Special Government Agent and the thrill accompanying it meant to him, Fiona and Josh meant so much more.

"C'mon, let's get back to bed honey," he said and started to rise.

Fiona shrugged. "What would be the point, I won't be able sleep anyway."

"Who said anything about sleeping?" Leon asked and cooked a smile.

Fiona raised both her eyebrows and hit Leon's chest with her elbow. Leon moaned and pretended to sink to the floor. Then she returned his teasing smile. A tingle in her stomach was gradually moving south.

An hour later, she was sound asleep in Leon's arms.

~ * ~ ~ * ~

"_**Azoth and so the term, which being originally a term for an occult formula sought by alchemists much like the philosopher's stone, became a poetic word for the element Mercury."**_

* * *

**I wish to thank my readers and everyone who has taken their time to submit a review. I really appreciate your feedback, and future reviews are most welcome too;-)  
A warm thank you and a big hug to my three regular reviewers AerithGast88, Piklink and Arashi. Your encouragment and support have meant so very much to me. **

**Final disclaimers: Fiona's Nightmare are based on the survival horror video game Haunting Ground, also known as Demento, (c)Capcom. Characters and/or events mentioned from other video games (including Leon S. Kennedy) include Resident Evil series and Clock Tower 3, also property of (c)Capcom. All _new_ characters _presented_ in the chapters 11, 12 and 16 (excluding Leon) belongs to me.  
The name of Fiona and Leon's boy belongs to me and AerithGast88.**

**I have tried my best to find good and reliable sources when doing research for this story. Main sources have been Google images and map, Wikipedia(only when reliable references were available), alchemylab(dot)com/azoth/htm and crystallinks(dot)com/philosopherstone/html. However, as I'm no expert errors may occurre.**

**WOW, this is really it! Almost 100.000 words! Well, Fiona's Nightmare may be finished, but the author is not. Info on future projects will come on my account. Now it really is...**

**~*~ THE END ~*~**


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